The hottest Problem Solving Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Education Topics

The Infinte Hotel Paradox [Math Mondays]

Technology Made Simple • 59 implied HN points • 27 Sep 22
🚌 Education Math Problem Solving
  1. The Infinite Hotel Paradox, created by mathematician David Hilbert, shows the mind-bending concept of infinity in a fun brain teaser.
  2. Solving paradoxes like this can improve problem-solving skills, similar to working on coding problems.
  3. The paradox involves scenarios like trying to accommodate an infinite number of guests in an infinitely occupied hotel, posing challenging questions.

Problem 57:Longest Repeating Character with Replacement[Google]

Technology Made Simple • 59 implied HN points • 21 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Coding Interviews Newsletter Problem Solving Tutoring
  1. The problem involves finding the longest substring with the same repeated character after replacing some characters. It's about choosing characters and performing operations.
  2. The examples illustrate how to approach the problem by changing characters in the string according to the constraints given.
  3. Constraints include the length of the input string, the character constraints in the string, and the limit on character replacements.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Dandelions

Sunday Letters • 39 implied HN points • 14 May 23
📖 Philosophy Life lessons Problem Solving Nature Engineering Mindfulness
  1. Don't get too caught up in your goals. Sometimes, focusing too much on a single goal can lead to missing out on other enjoyable aspects or better solutions.
  2. Like trying to fight dandelions in a lawn, we can get fixated on solving problems the wrong way. It's important to recognize when a goal isn't worth the struggle.
  3. Regularly step back and assess if you're on the right path. Taking a moment to rethink can often reveal simpler and more effective options.

More I learn, the more I suck 😫— Dunning-Kruger Effect

10x your mind • 59 implied HN points • 04 Aug 22
🚌 Education Metacognition Expertise Problem Solving Skill acquisition
  1. The Dunning-Kruger effect highlights the tendency to overestimate or underestimate expertise based on awareness.
  2. Learning a new skill involves phases: feeling great at the beginning, struggling in the middle, then finding enjoyment and expertise in the end.
  3. Recognizing the 'I suck' phase as a crucial period of progress can help avoid underestimating your growth potential.

[Solution]Problem 50:Rotting Oranges[Microsoft]

Technology Made Simple • 59 implied HN points • 04 Aug 22
🕹 Technology Coding Graphs Problem Solving Programming
  1. The problem of rotting oranges involves graph theory and BFS algorithms, and it can be challenging due to multiple oranges rotting simultaneously.
  2. The goal is to find the minimum number of minutes required for all fresh oranges to rot. If impossible, return -1.
  3. Understanding the problem thoroughly and having a structured approach to solving it is essential in coding interviews.

How to Solve Leetcode Brain Teasers [Technique Tusdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 09 Nov 22
🕹 Technology Coding Interviews Algorithms Problem Solving Tutoring
  1. Brain teasers in interviews may seem simple but can be tricky to solve because of their deceptive simplicity.
  2. When stuck on a problem, look for something familiar to latch onto and analyze it in depth to gain clarity on possible solutions.
  3. Talking out loud about the problem can help make connections, leading to better problem-solving and understanding.

Directions for the UX Profession

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 21 implied HN points • 08 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Design AI Professional Growth Problem Solving Ethics
  1. AI is viewed as a valuable tool in UX, enhancing designers' capabilities while keeping core principles intact.
  2. UX design practice is evolving towards decentralization, embracing generalist approaches, and integrating with business strategy.
  3. Continuous learning, adaptation, and leveraging personal strengths are crucial for professional growth in the UX field.

The Most Common Data Science Interview Mistake

inexactscience • 39 implied HN points • 14 Mar 23
🚌 Education Interview Tips Data science Problem Solving Professional development
  1. One big mistake in data science interviews is jumping to solutions too quickly. It's important to first understand the problem before trying to solve it.
  2. Asking questions during the interview can show your insight and help you gather essential information. It helps to clarify the business context and what needs to be addressed.
  3. Finding a balance is key. You want to ask enough questions to understand the issue without getting stuck in overthinking. A good candidate knows when to seek clarification and when to respond directly.

Problem 62: Arrange Robots by Model[Brilliant]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 27 Oct 22
🕹 Technology Logic Problem Solving Coding
  1. The post discusses a puzzle about arranging robots by model, focusing on logic and problem-solving skills without coding.
  2. The author encourages readers to fill out surveys, engage with the content, and consider a premium subscription for more benefits.
  3. There is a special request for readers to support the newsletter's visibility by recommending it on Substack, showcasing community engagement.

How to (selfishly) make great educational content | #3

The Pole • 39 implied HN points • 10 Jan 23
🚌 Education Content creation Audience engagement Problem Solving Market Analysis
  1. Great educational content should be clear, tailored to the consumer's needs, and marketed appropriately.
  2. Optimizing educational content creation involves enjoying the process, systematizing it, and finding the right market.
  3. When creating educational content, consider if it's for personal utility or the audience, and whether it aims to solve a problem or provide understanding.

[Solution]Problem 21: Rotate List by k elements[Facebook/Meta]

Technology Made Simple • 79 implied HN points • 20 Jan 22
🕹 Technology Coding Problem Solving Software Engineering Algorithm
  1. When trying to solve a problem involving rotating a list by k elements, consider the pattern finding technique to optimize the solution.
  2. Understanding the periodic nature of the problem can help reduce the number of operations needed, especially with large values of n and k.
  3. A key insight for rotating a list by k elements is to split the list into sublists based on the pivot (k) and manipulate these sublists to achieve the desired rotation without creating new copies.

What to do.

Douglass’s Newsletter • 19 implied HN points • 09 Jun 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Energy Corporations Societal collapse Problem Solving
  1. Temperatures are rising due to fossil fuel burning, leading to interconnected problems like soil, food, and poverty.
  2. Survival strategy involves a complex Gardenworld approach for localized food and security, combined with big tech for management.
  3. Urgency is stressed in understanding and addressing societal collapses, suggested readings like Tainter and Toynbee provide deeper insights.

Are you too tired to make the right decisions? [Growth Needle™]

Ruben Ugarte's Growth Needle™ • 19 implied HN points • 31 Aug 23
💼 Business Decision-making Mental health Problem Solving Productivity Personal Development
  1. Your mental state is really important when making decisions. If you're stressed or tired, it's harder to think clearly and make good choices.
  2. Finding 'Domino Decisions' can help you focus on what actions will make the biggest impact. It's about identifying the small steps that lead to bigger changes.
  3. To solve problems effectively, it's essential to find the root causes. Just treating symptoms won't fix issues in the long run.

[Solution]Problem 57:Longest Repeating Character with Replacement[Google]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 23 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Coding Problem Solving Programming
  1. The problem involves finding the longest substring with the same character after changing up to k characters. It can be seen as Leetcode problem 424.
  2. The examples provided illustrate the concept, showing how replacing characters can change the length of the longest repeating substring.
  3. Constraints like string length and character types are important to consider when solving the problem.

[Solution]Problem 79: Checking for a value[Facebook/Meta]

Technology Made Simple • 19 implied HN points • 17 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Math Problem Solving
  1. The post discusses a coding problem involving mathematical or bit operations with 32-bit integers for conditional value return.
  2. The solution to the problem is highlighted as being deceptively simple in terms of code but with a significant impact, serving as an introduction to a common technique in computational problem-solving.
  3. The problem requires returning one of the integers based on the value of a third integer, and only allows the use of mathematical or bit operations while assuming the third integer can only be 1 or 0.

Why the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus is interesting and important for AI

AI: A Guide for Thinking Humans • 60 HN points • 01 Mar 23
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Neural Networks Problem Solving Research
  1. Forming and abstracting concepts is crucial for human intelligence and AI.
  2. The Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus is a challenging domain that tests AI's ability to infer abstract rules.
  3. Current AI struggles with ARC tasks, showing limitations in solving visual and spatial reasoning problems.

Undeveloping conviction

Sunday Letters • 59 implied HN points • 05 Sep 22
🕹 Technology Innovation Engineering Problem Solving User Experience Programming
  1. New ideas offer fresh perspectives because you come in without much attachment. This freedom helps in finding solutions to complex problems, whether in life or work.
  2. As you invest time and energy into a solution, it can create a heavy inertia that makes it hard to change courses, even if the solution isn't ideal.
  3. It's important to allow some doubt and explore different options. This can lead to better solutions, as trying new approaches helps you discover alternatives you might not have considered.

Problem 78: Finding the Distance between 2 sets[Goldman Sachs]

Technology Made Simple • 19 implied HN points • 09 Mar 23
🕹 Technology Math Problem Solving Logic Generation
  1. The problem discusses finding the distance between two sets in math and problem-solving contexts, with connections to logic and generation.
  2. Terms like R^n and |x| are explained, providing insight into real number n-dimensional spaces and calculating distances.
  3. The post encourages solving rare interview-style questions, useful for senior positions or competitive programs, showcasing the value of handling diverse problem scenarios.

A fun no-calculator Problem [Math Monday]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 23 Aug 22
🚌 Education Math Learning Tutoring Problem Solving Interview Preparation
  1. The newsletter shared a fun math problem that doesn't require advanced knowledge, great for problem-solving practice.
  2. The author offered a limited-time 50% discount to celebrate almost 50 questions completed in the newsletter.
  3. There was a special request for readers to fill out a form to recommend the newsletter to Substack for more visibility.

Let's cut some cake

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 20 Mar 22
🚌 Education Decision-making Mathematics Team Dynamics Problem Solving Collaboration
  1. To share something fairly, one person should cut it while the other picks their piece. This way, both care about fairness.
  2. In team discussions or disagreements, break down decisions into parts to find common ground and make it easier for everyone to agree.
  3. Using a math-based approach can help settle arguments quickly and fairly, showing that cooperation can work better than fighting.

The art of making Simplifying Assumptions[Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 26 Jul 22
🕹 Technology Problem Solving Math Programming Artificial Intelligence Software Engineering
  1. The technique of making simplifying assumptions can help in problem-solving in various areas like System Design, Competitive Programming, and Math.
  2. Loosening computational constraints and accepting tradeoffs in performance metrics can lead to more optimal solutions by focusing on key aspects rather than trying to solve everything at once.
  3. Reducing scale, simplifying input, and picking optimal battlegrounds are strategies to make problem-solving more manageable and effective by breaking down complex problems into simpler components.

[Solution]Problem 48:Valid Parentheses[Amazon]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 21 Jul 22
🕹 Technology Coding Problem Solving Algorithms Interviews
  1. Understanding the concept of valid parentheses is crucial in coding interviews to solve classic problems like determining if a string of brackets is valid.
  2. Key rules for valid parentheses involve closing the brackets in the correct order and ensuring that the opening and closing brackets match.
  3. Developing an algorithm to validate parentheses involves utilizing the Last In, First Out (LIFO) principle with stacks to track opening and closing brackets.

[Solution]Problem 74: Find the First True in a Sorted Boolean Array [Stripe]

Technology Made Simple • 19 implied HN points • 10 Feb 23
🕹 Technology Logic Problem Solving Arrays
  1. The post discusses a problem of finding the first true in a sorted boolean array, sharing a solution and inviting readers to think about a key concept that helps in solving more challenging problems.
  2. The key concept highlighted in the post aims to enhance fundamental concepts, problem-solving skills, and preparation for Leetcode-style interviews.
  3. By focusing on solving problems and reinforcing fundamental concepts, one can better prepare for coding interviews and enhance problem-solving abilities.

Problem 24: Sentence Checker[Nest]

Technology Made Simple • 59 implied HN points • 09 Feb 22
🚌 Education Coding Problem Solving Learning Interviews Newsletter
  1. Create a basic sentence checker that validates sentences based on specific rules like capitalization, punctuation, and spacing.
  2. The sentence must start with a capital letter, have proper lowercase letters, separators, and terminal marks, and contain single spaces between words.
  3. Validation criteria include starting with a capital, having proper case usage, correct punctuation, and spacing. The sentence must end with a terminal mark following a word.

Useful skepticism

Sunday Letters • 79 implied HN points • 14 Feb 22
💼 Business Entrepreneurship Investing Innovation Skepticism Problem Solving
  1. Being skeptical is common because it's easier to see what could go wrong than what could go right. However, just being critical isn't enough; you also need to find solutions and create value.
  2. Instead of only questioning ideas, it's helpful to ask how they could succeed. This positive approach can lead to discovering new possibilities and innovations.
  3. While skepticism is a valuable tool, it can also lead to biases. It's important to balance it with open-mindedness and exploration to avoid closing off good opportunities.

The Cholocalate Milk Rule: Knowing when to sort your input [Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 05 Jul 22
🕹 Technology Coding Algorithm Sorting Problem Solving Interviews
  1. Knowing when to sort your input is crucial in certain coding problems. The Chocolate Milk Rule helps in identifying when sorting can lead to the solution.
  2. The Chocolate Milk Rule works when the solutions can be filtered based on ordering and when solutions are generated from input subsets. It can be applied in various scenarios like 3 Sum, 2 Sum Sorted, and even Search.
  3. Sorting the input makes it easier to filter solutions based on their magnitude. This simplifies the process of finding solutions to coding problems.

How seemingly 'unrelated' concepts can be helpful when solving complex problems [Math Monday]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 04 Jul 22
🚌 Education Math Problem Solving Coding Learning
  1. The solution to complex problems often combines ideas from multiple domains, similar to how problem-solving in software engineering works.
  2. When faced with intimidating problems, remember that breaking them down into smaller components and using various techniques is key to finding the solution.
  3. Techniques used in math and coding interviews are often similar, such as using small test cases, analyzing functions, and reducing problems to previously solved cases.

A list of questions to improve your performance on arrays[Technique Tuesdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 14 Jun 22
🕹 Technology Coding Problem Solving Interview Preparation Software Development
  1. The post discusses a list of questions to enhance your array problem-solving skills. It emphasizes coding each solution for beginners and mentally solving for advanced readers.
  2. There is a reminder to use a specific system to maximize learning from each question presented.
  3. The publication includes a special request to show support by completing a form to feature the newsletter on Substack.

How a Software Engineer went from SW2 to Principal in 4 Years [StoryTime Saturdays]

Technology Made Simple • 39 implied HN points • 13 Jun 22
🕹 Technology Software Engineering Career growth Problem Solving Professional development
  1. Sometimes, in software engineering, it's important to simplify the solution rather than making it overly complex.
  2. In problem-solving, considering economic aspects alongside technical solutions can lead to more efficient and sustainable outcomes.
  3. To excel in software development, it's crucial to broaden your knowledge and decision-making skills beyond just coding.