flâneur

Be patient with problems - by Henrik Karlsson

henrikkarlsson.xyz · 1,034 words · saved by 8 readers

Voice: 🇺🇸 Aaron🇺🇸 Albert🇮🇹 Alice🇸🇪 Alva🇲🇾 Amira🇨🇦 Amélie🇩🇪 Anna🇬🇧 Arthur🇺🇸 Bad News🇺🇸 Bahh🇺🇸 Bells🇺🇸 Boing🇺🇸 Bubbles🇮🇱 Carmit🇦🇺 Catherine🇺🇸 Cellos🇮🇩 Damayanti🇬🇧 Daniel (English (United Kingdom))🇫🇷 Daniel (French (France))🇧🇬 Daria🇨🇳 Eddy (Chinese (China mainland))🇹🇼 Eddy (Chinese (Taiwan))🇬🇧 Eddy (English (United Kingdom))🇺🇸 Eddy (English (United States))🇫🇮 Eddy (Finnish (Finland))🇨🇦 Eddy (French (Canada))🇫🇷 Eddy (French (France))🇩🇪 Eddy (German (Germany))🇮🇹 Eddy (Italian (Italy))🇯🇵 Eddy (Japanese (Japan))🇰🇷 Eddy (Korean (South Korea))🇧🇷 Eddy (Portuguese (Brazil))🇲🇽 Eddy (Spanish (Mexico))🇪🇸 Eddy (Spanish (Spain))🇧🇪 Ellen🇨🇳 Flo (Chinese (China mainland))🇹🇼 Flo (Chinese (Taiwan))🇬🇧 Flo (English (United Kingdom))🇺🇸 Flo (English (United States))🇫🇮 Flo (Finnish (Finland))🇨🇦 Flo (French (Canada))🇫🇷 Flo (French (France))🇩🇪 Flo (German (Germany))🇮🇹 Flo (Italian (Italy))🇯🇵 Flo (Japanese (Japan))🇰🇷 Flo (K

The Abyss of Hell, Sandro Botticelli, ca 1480 In the writings of mathematician Alexander Grothendieck, there is a recurring discussion of two opposing strategies when confronting problems. One strategy, which he saw as the default among mathematicians and lamented leaning on early in his career, was to “attack problems,” that is, directly work to prove what you have set out to prove. This is how I did math when I was younger. Handed a problem, I would attempt the first thing that came to mind; if that failed I would go for another approach—trying increasingly thoughtless tactics until the…

saved by

related reading