

Ask HN: How can I increase my 'clock speed' in problem solving? - blacknred

I&#x27;m getting increasingly discouraged at how long it takes me to solve technical problems, whether it&#x27;s during programming interviews or doing puzzles on the internet.<p>I know the most common advice is to practice practice practice and that is what I have been doing - online puzzles, TopCoder etc etc, but I don&#x27;t seem to be getting better. I have friends who are always able to solve these things much faster than me, seemingly without any practice.<p>This is holding me back from getting the job I want because I&#x27;m always so slow to come up with an answer during interviews.<p>The sad thing is that I have a PhD in CS from a top university, and an IQ in the high 130&#x27;s, so on paper I&#x27;m not exactly stupid... But I always rationalize this and say that the only reason I got accepted was because of good grades due to excellent rote learning skills, not smartness.<p>Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom?
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dozzie
My advice is reading: "The Introvert Advantage", Marti Olsen Laney. It may not
fit your general character (you may be an extrovert, it's hard to tell at this
point), but the book has some very good hints on how to make an advantage of
such thinking style.

Regarding finding a job, solving puzzles that one forgets ten minutes later is
rarely a major part of a technical job. You should better stick to building
proofs of your skills (e.g. portfolio).

