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Comment by p1necone | Hacker News Reader

One bit of advice for problem solving that I've taken to heart and find very effective is to not shy away from trying solutions you'd be embarrassed to tell other people because they'd probably think you were crazy/an idiot. Sometimes that direction is where the truly effective stuff is. Of course you should also try the obvious, simple, "normal" solutions - but don't be afraid to experiment.

A bit like "write drunk, edit sober" but instead of drunk, you're a raving lunatic.

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Man, I think feeling crazy for trying stuff even when completely alone, is something not enough people talk about. It's clear when you do it that most artists and creatively successful people have done it and gotten over it, but it's like something that you actually don't hear about or maybe don't register until you start doing it, and do it enough to get used to the feeling and carry on with whatever you were thinking of.

General research advice: I would also go in with the mindset "I am trying to disprove this approach as quickly as possible". This allows you to iterate quickly across hypotheses and not get dogmatically fixated on one approach. Cast the net wide in the initial search, including both normal and crazy solutions, then measure what approach is working, and then narrow the search based on that, learning lessons along the way. Don't start with a narrow search. Also, be sure that the different approaches you're trying are uncorrelated and ideally thematically/qualitatively different. Many researchers get tripped up trying "different" things that are really just superficial iterations of the same core concept.

Is this sort of that Warren Buffet negative problem solving thing or are is it just like stochastic trial and error. It sounds similar in spirit if not in exact form

I haven't read Buffet on this but I wouldn't call it stochastic because each hypothesis should be driven roughly by theory, sort of multiple educated guesses that are each uncorrelated and unique

Even being around other people can conform your thoughts to normal terms: get them back "on track", where your only choices are which track, which direction. It's not just the thoughts, but the terms, the dimensions.

I think a most fragile stage is when you've part-imagined a new track, and unclear if it's a good idea, if it works, even what it is. This can collapse like a house of card in the lightest breeze, a dream upon waking.

Human beings are automatically conformist - crucial for learning, language, custom, law, cooperation and trade, from the beginning - so it's good we need special circumstances for "creativity".

The way I frame this for myself is - just get the stupid solutions out of the way first. Do them so you can see how dumb they are, and move on to the better ones.

And that comes with the proviso that sometimes, the stupid solution is actually just fine, and you didn’t even need to make it so complicated.

I try to go one step further and only talk publicly about solutions I've tried that make me look like an idiot. But that's because my main motivation in speaking to others is to entertain, not to impress :)

You are my people XD

This is actually something I discovered when I had a mountain of dishes and it had me down for months.

One day, I thought, I don't even want all this crap, I would rather just have one of each essential "form" (large spoon, large fork, cup, plate, etc) and I certainly can't get them washed. So I grabbed a garbage bag and gently placed everything in (clearing the sink) and disposed of the weight.

Haven't had a problem since and I live much more peacefully and unburdened by all that.

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