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Developing Intuition

Intuition. The superpower which allows Grandmasters to solve problems faster than most of us can finish reading the statement isn’t magic that is relegated to the highest echelon of competitors, but a skill that all of us can start to develop. Today I’m covering a system to deepen your understanding of topics and in turn, intuition.

Write It All

It really is that simple. As you’re going through a problem1, just note every idea and thought that passes through your head2. This essentially creates a live action replay of how you tackled the problem to review afterwards3.

Behind The Scenes

Now that we’ve got this exclusive director’s cut footage, it’s time to hit the review room. I recommend just noting the general content (missed the possibility of $O(2^n)$ brute force) and cause (didn’t pay attention to constraints) of each mistake, but you can always go more in depth as necessary. This process of finding the root of each mistake acts as a catalyst for transitioning the knowledge from simply being known to understood and finding faults in your thinking process. If your hands aren’t tired from all the writing yet, I’d suggest also writing down each mistake and cause. This not only helps you remember each mistake better, acts as a checklist for future problems, but also saps you of the power needed to click away from this post.

Size Doesn’t Matter

Although this post is short, it’s short by design. Keeping the system as simple as possible not only makes it efficient but also eliminates any excuses for not following through on a daily basis. Thanks for reading.

Semi-Extraneous Footnotes

  1. Just to be clear here, you still have to solve challenging problems for this to work. This is a boon to good practice, not a replacement. ↩

  2. Maybe not every thought. I’ve written “is a shower thought in the bathtub actually a bathtub thought” which probably doesn’t need to be noted unless you want virtual internet points on Reddit. ↩

  3. You’re probably thinking that a footnote per sentence is probably overkill and a sign of excessively ambiguous writing. To that I say… you’re probably right, but footnotes are also pretty fun. ↩

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