Thursday, November 3, 2011

A brief thought about a tricky problem

I'm working through a math assignment. Question 3 is a doozie. I have this sneaking suspicion that it was put on the assignment just to screw with me.

No matter what I do or how hard I try, I can't force this question to make sense. I am totally consumed. I think about it before bed. I think about it when I wake up. I think about it when I cook dinner. I think about it when I sit on the bus. I am thinking about it right now. And somehow, I still can't find the answer.

The strangest part of this experience is that I actually enjoy being driven half crazy in search of the answer. I like the challenge. I like to be up in the middle of the night thinking instead of sleeping.

But I hate feeling like a prisoner to this obsession. I'd like to be able to think about something else for a little while. And I'd like some sleep, too.

I guess it's a "love-hate" thing.



1 comment:

  1. I sometimes go to sleep thinking I a math or computer science problem and will wake up with a solution! So I think that obsession with math problems is part of learning.

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