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Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

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Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#1

Post by Woberto »

I think this might actually be a few questions:

  1. Has anybody noticed their own cognitive decline? I'm 30 but am interested in experiences at all ages
  2. Does anybody have a good way of testing their intellect or problem-solving periodically? This would at least help me keep track going forward
  3. Has anybody found ways to improve their problem-solving skills? Or critical thinking?
I feel like my ability to solve problems well - efficiently, cleverly, satisfactorily, completely - has reduced over time (past year, maybe multiple years? I'm not really sure.) For example, I'll find that a programming solution didn't account for things I should've considered or introduced a new bug; or a co-worker will suggest a different solution and it seems obviously better. I don't think this has always been the case; I used to be pretty school smart in subjects like math and comp sci. My theories:

  - Maybe my intellect has diminished from using alcohol and weed at an early age?
  - Maybe that I've been feeling a bit burnt out
  - Maybe I've gotten lazy and rely too much on, e.g., stackoverflow
  - Maybe medicine I take for mental health?
  - Insufficient sleep? I've been getting 6-7 recently but should probably be getting 7-9
  - Maybe I've actually always been dumb and am only now realizing it!
Any thoughts would be appreciated. If it's something I can change, that would be a huge relief.

Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#3

Post by runjake »

karmakurtisaani wrote: post #2

Just wait until you have kids. Your mental capacity will nosedive and you have no time to worry about it. Just hope that no one notices!

+1. For people without kids yet, pay close attention to this comment. If you have big dreams, better get on them now.

For OP's #3 question: Reducing inputs has helped me tremendously. You don't need to pay attention to everything. You don't need to stay abreast of everything.

Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#5

Post by avgDev »

karmakurtisaani wrote: post #2

Just wait until you have kids. Your mental capacity will nosedive and you have no time to worry about it. Just hope that no one notices!

I am this stage currently.

Amazon recruiter has been asking me to take a technical assessment for weeks. I have no will power at all. Frankly, I am at a point where I won't study leetcode at all. I'm willing to make a move but will not grind.

Working on CRUD doesn't help the situation but at least I can do it with my tired and fried brain.

Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#8

Post by bri3d »

Early 30s here: focus has been the most important thing for me, and the resource that's been in the greatest decline.

I used to be able to multi-task to the point that I never really had to explicitly consider what I was doing: I could address everything, everywhere, well enough to not worry about it. I didn't have to reject incoming tasks or make a list and plan for my day, because I could meander through and come out the other side successful.

Now I am probably just as capable as I was at an earlier age, and in many areas more capable, but I need to manage my focus explicitly as a resource. I can only do so much in a day, now. This means I need to explicitly reject work which I am not able to do, make lists, and maintain a personal backlog and "actively working" section.

Make sure if you do this that you consider your personal life and obligations at least as important, if not more important than your work ones, or you can also easily tunnel vision into work tasks.

Also, with respect to your comments about programming solutions and co-workers - consider that you may have just moved up in the world, and are now solving harder problems with more experienced people.

Re: Ask HN: Have you experienced decline in problem-solving skills? How to improve?

#9

Post by agentultra »

I find overall cognition in myself to be fairly elastic. There were periods when I was raising my kids where the sleep deprivation took a huge toll on everything I did. However I did eventually recover and learned quite a bit about logic, proof, and type theory in the following years. I think I'm a lot stronger as a developer now than I used to be.

I went through a period of burnout a couple years ago. That had a strong effect on my mood, energy levels, and interfered with my short-term memory a lot. However I've recovered from that too.

Best thing you can do is stay rested, eat well, and get a therapist. Stress can play a huge role in our lives and managing our emotional states is as important as our physical ones to overall mental health. It can be good to have a coach in your corner to help you recognize patterns and behaviours. They can often offer helpful guidance on how to manage them to achieve the outcomes you desire.

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