13 Quotes by V. Anton Spraul

Don’t Get Frustrated The final technique isn’t so much a technique, but a maxim: Don’t get frustrated. When you are frustrated, you won’t think as clearly, you won’t work as efficiently, and everything will take longer and seem harder. Even worse, frustration tends to feed on itself, so that what begins as mild irritation ends as outright anger.

Looking for a way to divide a problem is usually time well spent. Even if you are unable to find a clean division, you may learn something about the problem that helps you to solve it.

Restating the problem in a more formal manner is a great technique for gaining insight into a problem.

When solving problems, working with a specific goal in mind is always better than random effort, whether you achieve that specific goal or not.

In many cases, the correct approach to the solution is the solution.

It’s better to develop a strategy than to attack the problem through trial and error.

Problems include constraints, unbreakable rules about the problem or the way in which the problem must be solved.

The chief lesson here is the importance of recognizing analogies. Here, we can see that the Quarrasi lock problem is analogous to the fox, goose, and corn problem. If we discover that analogy early enough, we can avoid most of the work of the problem by translating our solution from the first problem rather than creating a new solution.

The broader lesson is that thinking about the problem may be as productive, or in some cases more productive, than thinking about the solution. In many cases, the correct approach to the solution is the solution.