How to solve it
While reading up on heuristics, I came across this examples from Polya’s 1945 book, How to Solve It, a book about mathematics.
- If you are having difficulty understanding a problem, try drawing a picture.
- If you can’t find a solution, try assuming that you have a solution and seeing what you can derive from that (“working backward”).
- If the problem is abstract, try examining a concrete example.
- Try solving a more general problem first (the “inventor’s paradox”: the more ambitious plan may have more chances of success)
These sound like wonderful strategies for dealing with design problems. I haven’t gotten the book yet, but it in my queue and ready to download…
