Pretend clever

The best way to learn something - is to teach another. Blockquote> has come January, students begin to take exams. And often the most difficult exam is math. My good friend asked me: "What is the Lagrange's theorem, as it is to prove and understand?»

I know the definition and proof of this theorem, but to understand it, I could only after explaining to a friend.

And I remembered that this happens all the time. The best way I play chess when voicing aloud what was happening on the board (I play on the internet), it is best to write the code when I explain aloud to myself that I want and how to get it. And I understand the material from the lectures, when I explain it to others.

We always give good advice, but as Alice in Wonderland, follow them infrequently. This happens because we are in a hurry, we have created for themselves patterns of behavior, and do not think about what we are doing.

Sometimes I invent puzzles, and try to solve them. For example, one of them:

You are given a text file, which is written thousands of decimal places of pi. One character at a random location is incorrect, as with the least amount of effort, time or money to find the position of this sign? Blockquote>
Think about how to solve this problem? As if this problem was solved by a clever man?

How would this problem intelligent man? I argue in this way:
I know programming, and I can write a program that will compare character by character with the "correct line", which can be taken online. But however this problem was solved by people without programming knowledge?

You can manually compare the signs, but a high proportion of errors, and too large amount of work.
You can try to find and change the script on the Internet to solve this problem. But there is a risk of error, and there is no certainty that it will turn quickly.
You can hire a freelance person who writes this program. I do not think that it will cost more than 500 rubles.
You can ask another programmer to write this program, and if there are none, to find undergraduates of technical universities and ask them.
You can write Offline programming request help with this math problem and is likely to lead you to a solution, but maybe the answer.
You can also manually check for the first 50-100 characters, not to be a fool. The probability is small, but forces it will take not so much and have a chance to immediately get rid of the problem.
The problem is that I do not argue, "a clever man," I can not explain to anyone how they were going to solve this problem, and it makes me self-contained, formulaic. Most often I do not even think about how I would solve this problem, and just start doing something. And it's not always a good thing.

In Theodore Roosevelt on the wall hung a portrait of Lincoln. And when there was a difficult task, Roosevelt was looking at the picture and asked myself: "What would Lincoln did in this situation? How would he solved this problem? "(From the book of Dale Carnegie)

And it's a really good way to find a solution to the problem: imagine how this problem was solved by a clever man.

According to statistics, more than half of the people consider themselves smarter than the average person, but hardly anyone considers himself the smartest person. Everyone can imagine that it is possible to solve the problem the best way, as if they decided to smarter people in your same circumstances.

I do not want to leave this article as another argument, a simple set of ideas, so I'll write a few ways that can help you solve problems, find motivation and overcome laziness.

Methods

Start thinking out loud, it is more useful than it might seem at first glance. Comment on what you need to do and how to do it best. Perhaps your first monologue will remind me: What if? , Great! And probably a new xkcd came out, you have to look ...

But because of the loud sound, you will notice that not doing so. In silence, you can spend hours on the internet, but if you say "open another entertainment site", you feel uneasy.

Find the listener. When I go to a friend to help him with the programming, I can not check your mail, start reading interesting but useless to me now as a general article and any distractions. He just stares with a raised eyebrow, "What are you doing?»
Habré was an article as a man hired girl beat him in the face every time he comes to social networks. Another option is better that you are helping each other, you do not need to pay him, and he may be heavier hand :)

This method is difficult to decide, because it is weird. But I think it is the most effective. Set a precise goal for the next half hour (метод tomato ), turn on the video on your smartphone (or camcorder) and start working, simultaneously explaining what you are doing. After send this entry to a friend, whose opinion you value, and do not want to spoil yourself in his eyes. This should not be the one who zasmeёtsya and approve when you vskinete hands on video with the words "And to hell!»

Please lesson on your application, if possible. The best way to deal with theorems in mathematics, write a short lesson, what is this theorem, for what it is, where it came from and how to prove it. Lesson optionally publish, but the worst of it will not .

Ask people how to solve your problem. Do not be afraid to ask questions, even if you are very smart people are always different life experience and mentality, a different opinion, and always useful to look at their task with more than one point of view. Even with such a good as yours.
Conclusion
Our brain does not like to think. He currently creates patterns of behavior, stereotypes, clichés and verbal attempts to reduce everything to a proven algorithms. And almost always this good. We do not need to think how to put one foot, like brushing your teeth or drive a car.

But many problems can be solved in another way, the best, to which you can think of, but not even begin to think. And then it's worth asking: "How would this problem was solved by a clever man?" Pretend intelligent person and solve it.

Scope of this method is much broader than the tasks for the job. Sometimes it is necessary to stop and think aloud: how would a smart man found a way to go to bed on time? What would an intelligent man, not to quarrel with a loved one?

Several problems were finally
How would these tasks clever man decided the least expensive way? B> 1. Splitting a window? About problems with the law, with tenants and other temporarily be forgotten. Owners of the apartment you do not want to let inside.

2. How to shake hands with the president of the United States Barack Obama? (Pictured Barack Obama and the hand you want to shake)
Thank you all for your comments, so definitely enough?

3. How exactly you become a happy, contented life?

Especially advise to think about the last question. What do you advise a smart man that start or stop doing?

It will be interesting to read the comments in the possible solutions to these problems and comments Habra-users to them. Sure, and my task to find incorrect figures in the number Pi also exists a simpler solution.

Any errors in the text please write a personal message.

UPDATE I did not think people are Habré "boring." Of course, under Barack Obama, the US president meant. Otherwise, you could say, "let's call the number 1, number 11111 ... pi, then quite easy to find a different sign ...»

It's made-up tasks, they are out and given to bring interesting solutions, and not to swing them.

Source: habrahabr.ru/post/247957/