How to become a better problem solver 🔍

Original email from Oct 08, 2024

I love puzzle games

One of the best ways to become a problem solver is to learn to love solving and figuring out problems. A good way to get into that mindset is to have fun with puzzles – the gamified version of problems.

For example, let's take a puzzle from the game, "Professor Layton in the Curious Village" titled "Which chair?"

Here is the problem:

"A new multipurpose event hall has been built in the center of your town. It will be used for everything from concerts to sporting events to conventions.

With the hall complete, it's time to order the chairs. Five chair designs labeled A through E, are being considered, but of all the designs, only one chair is completely suitable for the auditorium." Which chair should be used?

"Which chair?"

(Try to figure it out here without looking, I'll tell you the answer in the end)

What I like about this puzzle is it's constructed in the same way one would consider a software solution.

You're given a context (auditorium and the chairs to use), a list of solutions (the different types of chairs), the use cases, and the need to scale (to be used for everything from concerts to sporting events to conventions).

It's not always incredibly obvious, and you have to ask yourself a few key questions before you land on the answer. And that's sort of the key to problem-solving.

It's 80% understanding the problem and 20% finding the different solutions. There are always obstacles to figuring things out, but that's what makes it fun. And I think that's the key to becoming an exceptional problem-solver.

Find problems, understand them, and think up solutions. Do puzzles. Solve riddles. And just have fun.

And before I forget, the answer to the Professor Layton puzzle:

¡ƃuᴉɹoʇs ɹoɟ ʇuɐʇɹodɯᴉ sᴉ ɥɔᴉɥʍ 'ʞɔɐʇs uɐɔ noʎ ɹᴉɐɥɔ ʎluo ǝɥʇ s,ʇI ˙ɹᴉɐɥɔ ʇsɐl ǝɥʇ 'Ǝ sᴉ ɹǝʍsuɐ ǝɥ┴

P.S.

Also, if you get the chance, play the Professor Layton series. They were a collection of Nintendo DS games that hosted various puzzles, riddles, and problems to solve and indirectly helped me be a better developer