Cracking_a_Problem.pdf

Transcript

1. Cracking a problem Piotr Czajka 2025
2. Disclaimer: This is based on my experiences and might not work for everyone I give you a toolbox, not a solution
3. Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines. Robert H. Shuller
4. Agenda • Introduction • Problem solving pitfalls • Understanding a problem • Solving (hopefully) a problem • Q&A
5. Defining a problem • Problem is a non-trivial obstacle preventing us from reaching the desired goal. • Engineers are problem-solvers not code writers – you have LLMs for that.
6. Defining ’’cracking it” • Understanding the issue. • Coming up with the solution.
7. What will I share • My tips for understanding the problem • My tips for solving the problem • Some tools I use for the above
8. Pitfalls
9. The Lego solution to solving a problem
13. The red herring
14. The reversed red herring
15. Cognitive load - Intrinsic
16. Everybody lies! Gregory House
17. Cognitive load - Extraneous
18. Occam's razor gone wrong • It’s not the simplest answer – it’s the simplest of equal answer
19. Understading
22. Ilusion of a goal
23. You can increase your problem- solving skills by honing your question-asking ability. Michael J. Gelb
24. 5 Whys
25. The N-W(hy|hat|here) • Why? • What? • What is the desired outcome? • …
26. • Read about the problem • Write down • Draw • Reshape • Simplify Work hard
27. • Take a break • Take a walk • Do something else • Sleep Rest harder
28. Who is the best at learning new languages?
29. Why members of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, of course!
30. Mormon’s language teaching method • Also used by the US military • Some of the methods we can repurpose: • Total immersion from day one • Teach what you’ve learned • Mastry of the narrow field
31. Zettelkasten
32. Zettelkasten • One note – one idea. • A note has to be self-contained. • ALWAS connect the note with at least one other. • NEVER COPY – write in your own words. • ALWAYS keep the source information. • NEVER DELETE – just note why it’s become irrelevant. • You CAN add your thoughts.
33. Zettelkasten • Well known and quite old idea • Niklas Luhmann • Hyper-textual before hypertext • Improves thought connectivity • Ensures information is grounded and has sources • Helps tackle complex problems • Normal notes tend to bloat and loose their usefullness over time
34. Zettlr Obsidian Notion
35. Solving
36. Instead of thinking out the box, get rid of the box. Deepak Chopra
37. If Your Only Tool Is a Hammer Then Every Problem Looks Like a Nail
38. If Your Only Tool Is a Hammer Then Every Problem Looks Like a Nail
39. Simplify the issue
40. 99% solution vs. 100% solution
41. 99% solution vs. 100% solution
42. It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove. Antoine de Saint Exupéry
43. Inverting a problem
44. On the importance of „the flow”
45. John Wick method of writing solving a problem
46. John Wick method of writing solving a problem
47. More tools
48. Web search
49. Methods • https://untools.co/
50. Summary • Take your time to understand the issue: • Understand the problem. • Familiarise with the problem domain. • Simplify the issue: • Drop the extrenous cognitive load. • Separate the Edge cases and Focus on the core. • Move from the problem domain to the math domain. • Look for the solution
51. Thank you
52. Q&A
53. Bibliography • Zettelkasten • https://zettelkasten.de/introduction/ • Tools for better thinking: • https://untools.co/ • https://scholar.google.com/ • https://www.wolframalpha.com/ • https://chatgpt.com/