Enjoyed #Polya's #HowToSolveIt. Makes me feel really inadequate in some ways - really brilliant guy.

I need to buy some more books now! I'm thinking though next should be to work through some sections of the #wizardbook #SICP Structure and Interpretations of Computer Programming

#TeachYourselfCS

@chris_sangwin

Don't know about the “elementary” part but I think I first read about that particular #Heuristic in #Polya's #HowToSolveIt, where he remarks it working especially well in #Proofs by #MathematicalInduction, where it acts to #PrimeThePump of the #InductiveProof.

#Synchronicity being what it is, this came up just the other day in a more general setting ☟

• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2022/10/14/abduction-deduction-induction-analogy-inquiry-31/

I'm working through the 'how to solve it' book and i'm a bit lost about solving this problem - I can do algebra alright but transforming x^4-13x^2+36=0 to (2x^2)^2-2(2x^2)13+144=0 doesn't seem to follow a simple rule of algebra. It's not like simply replacing x with x^2. Anyone help with what I'm missing? #math #maths #teahyourselfcs #algebra #howtosolveit