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Why Your Best Thinking Is in the Shower (2014)

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Re: Why Your Best Thinking Is in the Shower (2014)

#41

I'm solving olympiad programming problems almost everyday since October 2015 (mainly on CodeForces, also occasionally on HackerRank, Project Euler, TopCoder, Acm Timus, Uva etc). In total, I spend 15-20 hours per week on solving these problems. Solving these problems is really hard and energy consuming process. So every week, for more than a year, I'm experiencing getting stuck and being really frustrated, having ins…

Can you describe an np complete problem that you have solved?

Re: Why Your Best Thinking Is in the Shower (2014)

#42

I'm solving olympiad programming problems almost everyday since October 2015 (mainly on CodeForces, also occasionally on HackerRank, Project Euler, TopCoder, Acm Timus, Uva etc). In total, I spend 15-20 hours per week on solving these problems. Solving these problems is really hard and energy consuming process. So every week, for more than a year, I'm experiencing getting stuck and being really frustrated, having ins…

"It means that there is no way to solve them deterministically in reasonable amount of time."

On the contrary, the systematic method to hack these seems to be pattern matching and shoehorning into similar problems rather than reasoning from first principles. I'm going through a similar battle, mainly because programming interviews have annoyingly become competitive challenges lately and before adopting a strategy it was an extremely soulsucking process.

Re: Why Your Best Thinking Is in the Shower (2014)

#44
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also forget. Thankfully hair-washing is an idempotent operation for guys :) .

If you use shampoo, it's not idempotent. Over-shampooing hair dries out your scalp. A nontrivial number of guys with dandruff could benefit from shampooing less often.

I've been wondering about this. I have a bit of dandruff.

I really like the fluffy hair feeling i get when i wash most/all the grease out.

But sometimes i can wash my hair 4-5 times and it's still greasy!

Re: Why Your Best Thinking Is in the Shower (2014)

#46

This is why I keep a notebook next to my bedside - I have my best ideas just before sleep or upon waking.

In a previous job, I sometimes ran into programming problems that I spent all day trying to figure out - without success. But quite often, when I went home, unwound, went to bed, just the moment before falling asleep, the solution would become obvious.

And nearly every programmer I told about this had experienced the same thing. ;-)

Re: Why Your Best Thinking Is in the Shower (2014)

#47
post #46

This is why I keep a notebook next to my bedside - I have my best ideas just before sleep or upon waking.

In a previous job, I sometimes ran into programming problems that I spent all day trying to figure out - without success. But quite often, when I went home, unwound, went to bed, just the moment before falling asleep, the solution would become obvious. And nearly every programmer I told about this had experienced the same thing. ;-)

I would sometimes get a brilliant idea at three o'clock in the morning. The next day I could remember having an idea but not exactly what it was :(

Re: Why Your Best Thinking Is in the Shower (2014)

#49
post #3
post #2

I have become addicted to having long thinking session in the shower. I probably shower too much. I often go in there. Make sure all lights are off. Usually sit or lay in bathtub with just shower on. Close eyes and relax and think(and daydream). It's sorta like a combination massage / isolation chamber effect for me. Spending time doing this daily keeps me centered, focused, clear minded, and lastly reduces any tempo…

And people call me weird for this! It's about the closest thing the average person has in their house to an isolation chamber. I find it very beneficial to retreat to it after I get stuck on a problem and need to approach it differently. Continuous water heaters are a must though :)

if i didnt have roomates i would put a white board in the shower
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