Books:
How to Solve It describes the following common and simple heuristics:
- If you are having difficulty understanding a problem, try drawing a picture.
- If you can’t find a solution, try assuming that you have a solution and seeing what you can derive from that (“working backward”).
- If the problem is abstract, try examining a concrete example.
- Try solving a more general problem first (the “inventor’s paradox”: the more ambitious plan may have more chances of success).
Polya advises: “If you can’t solve a problem, then there is an easier problem you can solve: find it.”
