Writing Problems

What is Problem-Writing?

That's a good question. So far I've writing my first 4 and it's not easy even though the problems themselves are easy. I don't know if this extends in general but now that I think about it, the reason why I think that the problems themselves are easy it's because I have already encountered problems of that sort. Then perhaps in general problem-writing is tougher just because it's more likely that the writer already has experience in solving those.

This is what I've seen after writing my first 4: 1. Don't start too hard even if you can solve hard problems. Easy to solve need not imply easy to make. 2. Pick something that you think you might be able to handle. In my case, it's the "Humans and Werewolves" problems. These
problems consist of statements that are either always true or always false. Also, they make claims about other statements found within the problem. The usual strategy is to test one of them and see what we get. I consider this to be the easiest form of strategy. 3. Start writing...anything. For my first problem, "Humans and Werewolves Part1," I honestly didn't know what to even do, so I started writing sentences uttered by hypothetical people. After that, I started modifying stuff to fit something solvable. I recommend that my reader to look at that one and see what I mean. Not only did I modified stuff but also added conditions to fit solvability (again, it's better to see the problem to see what I'm talking about). 4. I followed the brilliant.org courses' format. I even included the villagers setting but this is not necessary. In fact, in my "Burglars and Detectives Part1" problem, even though I used some of their ideas, the setting its very different. 5. For me, it takes time to design. This brings me questions about solvability. How do we know how things can fit to make a solvable problem? Are there instructions to follow? Is it always creative? The answer seems more likely that good problems are creative ones. I have also being advised to consider real-life situations, so stay tuned for that.

Why Write Problems?

Solving problems its all nice and good (and necessary for logical maturity, I would argue) but I noticed that things can get really hard. I believe that one way to progress into tougher problems is to be able to write the ones you already know how to solve! If I can get used to that, then maybe I could "see" the author's intentions. Maybe not, but I still don't know. Another reason is that I want to contribute also. It's nice to think that you're making others think (that includes people in your life).

What Comes Next?

I'm excited about this problem writing approach because it has altered my goals. Originally, I just wanted to take courses. Then I started solving (not that many) other people's problems. But now, why not make them too? My objective now is to master logic but now I'll make my learning more dynamic. Instead of just following a path of courses to take, I can also write some article with my own problems (with the appropriate citing of course). This is my experience and my new set of plans. I hope you enjoyed it.

Note by Jay B
2 years, 4 months ago

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