There are two types of problems we solve as developers: algorithmic heuristic What type of programmer do you want to be? We can map these to the two types of problems outlined by Csikszentmihalyi in Creativity: presented discovered To solve algorithmic, or presented, problems, it’s simply a matter of recognizing…

Creativity is the most important problem solving skill you can develop. But what is creativity? Why is it important? How does it work? In this article, we will define creativity, identify the traits of a creative person, and outline the stages of the creative process. When learning something new or…

What’s your Big O? One of the fundamental concepts of computer science is Big O notation. Big O helps us answer the question, “Can we do better?” We use Big O to measure the performance, or rate of growth, of an algorithm. As lifelong learners, we want to optimize our…

When learning something new, we want to create chunks. With chunking, we learn a concept then combine that concept with other concepts to solve problems. If we encounter a concept that is too big to understand, we need to break it into smaller chunks, then recombine the chunks. This article…

What are you learning this year? Perhaps we need to reframe the question: how are you learning this year? Did you make resolutions to learn X or build Y with new hotness Z? How’s it going so far? Most people don’t stick with their resolutions. Something like 80% of people…

The path to success in any field is to develop expertise. The first, and most important, step on that path is deciding that it’s possible. The second step is to make it a practice. This article originally published in my newsletter, The Solution How Do You Gain Expertise? To gain expertise, we need to first…

Emotion is important for success in both problem solving and learning. Empathy sparks creativity, but to excel we need to be aware of our emotional blocks. This article originally published in my newsletter, The Solution. Emotion & Metacognition What is the role of emotion in metacognition? Emotion is an important, and often overlooked…

How do we interrupt the process of forgetting? Repetition and testing. This article originally published in my newsletter, The Solution. How do we learn anything? How do we remember the things that we learn? The authors of Make It Stick point out that: In very short order we lose something…

How do you build something out of nothing? Start with pattern forming. Then make it a habit. This article originally published in my newsletter, The Solution. How do you build something out of nothing? In The Mythical Man-Month, Fred Brooks writes: The programmer, like the poet, works only slightly removed…