
Claude Shannon’s method for formulating and solving problems - ColinWright
http://www.businessinsider.com/engineer-claude-shannon-problem-solving-process-2017-7
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rihegher
Step 1: Simplify. Simplify. Simplify.

Step 2: Fill your 'mental matrix' with solutions to similar problems.

Step 3: Approach the problem from many different angles.

Step 4: Break a big problem down into small pieces.

Step 5: Solve the problem 'backwards.'

Step 6: If you've solved the problem, extend that solution out as far as it
will go.

~~~
contingencies
_Shannon 's six secrets: Simplification. Analogy. Reframing. Abstraction.
Division. Inversion._ \- Claude Shannon (1954), a modern summary.

... added to my fortune database @
[http://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup](http://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup)

~~~
ronjouch
Cool collection! Thanks, added to my shell startup :)

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nsomaru
Source of article:
[http://www1.ece.neu.edu/~naderi/Claude%20Shannon.html](http://www1.ece.neu.edu/~naderi/Claude%20Shannon.html)

It's a transcript of a speech Shannon gave on creativity.

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henrik_w
Very good. Reminds me of the book "How to solve it" by Polya.

I also like the Feynman problem solving algorithm:

1) Write down the problem.

2) Think very hard.

3) Write down the solution.

~~~
sailfast
Came here to say this. Reading Polya now and there are lots of parallels!
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It)

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nucatus
This is the original article: [http://uk.businessinsider.com/engineer-claude-
shannon-proble...](http://uk.businessinsider.com/engineer-claude-shannon-
problem-solving-process-2017-7)

~~~
ColinWright
I can't change that, but the mods might notice and do it for us. Thanks for
the detective work.

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Schwolop
My favourite of Shannon's theorems:

Shannon’s Juggling Theorem

(F+D)H=(V+D)N

F is the time a ball spends in the air (Flight)

D is the time a ball spends in a hand (Dwell), or equivalently, the time a
hand spends with a ball in it

V is the time a hand spends empty (Vacant)

N is the number of balls

H is the number of hands

([http://lkozma.net/blog/shannons-juggling-
theorem/](http://lkozma.net/blog/shannons-juggling-theorem/) for more details)

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deltafreq369
Would like to know how quickly Shannon cycled through these steps. The "fill
your mental matrix" may suggest some for of priming or unconscious process
taking place, perhaps over night, or over a walk? My experience is that ideas
take time to bloom.

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shady-lady
Waiting for kindle version to drop on Amazon UK
([https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Play-Shannon-Invented-
Informat...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Play-Shannon-Invented-
Information/dp/1476766681))

How much do the rights actually cost? As in, is it feasible for me to purchase
these rights and sell Kindle edition myself?

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lubujackson
Nice list of tricks. I always try to remember one simple truth of problem
solving and creativity: our minds can create nothing. All we can do is find
connections between things. We consider it genius when people make a great
leap of a connection, but that is usually achieved by the hard work of finding
the right inputs. Shannon understood that as well as anyone.

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srean
Putting Claude Shannon in an ordinary grad student's shoes, what fills me with
sheer unmitigated terror is: if that's what was my masters thesis, what could
I possibly do after that, that is significant in comparison, that would
qualify for a PhD dissertation. Stuff for nightmares and cold sweat. Surely
not for the real Claude Shannon

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shubhamjain
I was surprised at the recent surge in articles about Claude Shannon. Taking a
closer look, I can see a brilliant case of how good marketing works. Most of
these articles have been written by same authors who wrote the biography of
Claude Shannon. Although, he is a respected figure but his reverence—or,
better say, popularity—is nowhere near a famous businessman like Steve Jobs.

These articles work as a trigger to get interested in Claude Shannon and then,
the book itself. And I am sure it's working. I am almost tempted to buy the
book. Like many people, I certainly detest many marketing tactics but this is
an example of one that has been done right and is even helpful.

~~~
SamReidHughes
Also, I got an email because at one point I had tweeted about Shannon:

 _Dear Sam,

I hope this note finds you well. I noticed that you had tweeted in the past
about James Gleick's book "The Information." As it happens, that book inspired
a book I've just finished: the first-ever full length biography of the late
Bell Labs engineer Claude Shannon.

The book was recently published by Simon & Schuster. I figured I would reach
out, given your interest in Bell Labs. We were fortunate to have worked with
Alice Mayhew, the editor behind A Beautiful Mind, Walter Isaacson's Steve
Jobs, and other books in that genre.

I think you'll enjoy the book and hope you get a chance to check it out!

Jimmy

\--

\--

My new book, A Mind At Play (Simon & Schuster), is available now. It's the
story of Claude Shannon, one of the founders of the information revolution—and
one of the reasons we can exchange these emails._

