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DanielLC comments on Rationality Quotes Thread August 2015 - Less Wrong Discussion

6 Post author: bbleeker 03 August 2015 09:50AM

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Comment author: Sarunas 03 August 2015 01:39:35PM *  7 points [-]

It is better to solve one problem five different ways, than to solve five problems one way

George Pólya, or at least attributed to him, as I am unable to find the exact source, despite its being widely quoted in texts related to mathematics education or problem solving in general.

Comment author: DanielLC 04 August 2015 05:44:57PM 1 point [-]

The first is certainly good for teaching math, but in general they both have advantages and disadvantages. It's good to have a lot of methods for solving problems, but it's also important to have general methods that can each solve many problems.