[Article] Dealing with Hard Problems

Dealing with Hard Problems by Richard Rusczyk

So many of the problems worth solving in life are hard. In order to find and answer questions that have never been solved, we must learn how to think and approach difficult problems strategically.

Following are tips for dealing with hard problems, and the frustration that comes with them.

1. Do something
   Start trying stuff even when you have no idea what to do. There’s a chance that you might hit something. Don’t worry if your effort would be wasted, it’s better than just staring anyway.
2. Simplify the problem
   Try smaller numbers, remove/add some restrictions. Set your sights a little lower, then raise them once you tackle the simpler problem.
3. Reflect on successes
   Think about the strategies you used to solve other hard problems, borrow insight from your experience and from other problems.
4. Focus on what you haven’t used yet
   If the current path isn’t working, look back and find what else you can use.
5. Work backwards
   Start from what you want, and ask yourself what you need to get there.
6. Ask for help
   Sometimes it’s hard to admit you need help. Often you’ll get much farther if you get up the courage to do so.
7. Start early
   Don’t wait until the last minute, give yourself enough time to understand complex ideas fully and work on the problem without time pressure.
8. Take a break
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9. Start over
   Get a fresh sheet of paper, and try to start from scratch. You can always get back to early thought later.
10. Give up
    Sometime it’s more about to learn from the problem than to solve it. It’s better to cut your losses and move on to then next problem.
11. Be introspective
    If you get access to the solution of the problem (and you do give up and read it), think about what clues in the problem could have led you to this solution. Think about what you did wrong in your investigation. Think about the blind alleys, and how you could have avoided them in the future.
12. Come back
    Gather every problem that you can’t solve (even if you’d read the solution). Keep the problem alive, come back and try the problem again a few weeks later. Whenever you learn a new problem solving strategy or technique, run through problems that you can’t solve in the past and see if it helps

Being a genius is an awful lot about effort, preparation, and being comfortable with challenges