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| How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method (Princeton Science Library) | 
| Author: G. Polya
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
Buy New: $10.94
You Save: $7.01 (39%)
New (29) from $10.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  31 reviews
Sales Rank: 10842
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 0.5
ISBN: 069111966X
Dewey Decimal Number: 513
EAN: 9780691119663
ASIN: 069111966X
Publication Date: April 5, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent and useful book December 23, 2005
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
A really helpful book that goes way beyond math. In our hurry to get through algebra we almost completely sidestep problem solving in teaching. It's true that we have `story problems' but they're usually just applications that restate the chapter's contents. That's why so many people get to a class like physical chem in college and flounder: they've never really been taught how to solve a problem only to regurgitate what's been read. This book by Polya fills in that gap.
More than that, though, this book is useful for life in general. Much of life is a leap from one decision to another and this book will help in looking at all problems and decision from new angles. (See Polya's book "Plausible Thinking" for lots more detail on this subject.)
Like in his other books the author has a knack for making the difficult seem a whole lot easier but parts can still be heavy going. Well worth the trudge, though.
 A delightful and satisfying classic December 18, 2004
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
Are you like a dog with a bone when you're working on a brain teaser? After pages of scribbles, do you get a big grin on your face when you turn to the answers and say: "I'm right!" Then this book is for you.
And if you're not yet a die-hard problem-solver? You should step right up, too. You may get hooked.
G. Polya's book is based on the fact that, if we study how someone does something successfully, we can learn to do it successfully as well. How To Solve It is an application of 'heuristics' to solving problems.
There are certain mental operations useful in solving problems, any sorts of problems. Polya (who was an eminent mathematician and former Professor of Mathematics at Stanford University) describes and illustrates the most usual and useful of these operations, in a way that is irresistible and eye-opening.
These useful mental operations are organized according to when they come into play during the four steps to solving a problem. 1. You have to understand the problem. (Not as easy as it sounds.) 2. Find the connection between the data given and the unknown. Conceive the idea of a plan for the solution. 3. Carry out the plan. 4. Examine the solution obtained.
If you take some time and try to solve the problems selected to illustrate each mental operation, you will be well-rewarded. You will likely discover something surprising about your own problem-solving methods, and improve them in the process. You will definitely discover many new ideas and techniques to add to your arsenal.
For example, a first impulse when confronted with a problem is often to try to 'swallow it whole' -- to try to meet all of the conditions of the problem at once. G. Polya suggests keeping only part of the condition, and dropping the other part. This can lead you straight to a solution you might otherwise have completely missed.
His techniques help you to stand back and get to the heart of the problem, rather than getting lost in it.
Something else I liked very much about his book is his encouragement to guess, or to reason 'plausibly.' While the final proof must be strictly logical, "Anything is right that leads to the right idea." Problem-solving has every right to be fun, as well as purposeful.
Buy it! April 28, 2004
15 out of 19 found this review helpful
The issue is that solving problems is not made interesting and fulfilling experience.This book beautifully explains the process of problem-solving. It starts from simple problems, lays down the fundamentals and leads to more complex problems. One of the gems is the simple formula:
1. Understand the problem
2. Devise a plan (seeing how various items connect
3. Carry out the plan
4. Look back at the completed solution, review and discuss it. It is also a good reference to teach kids how to approach problems. Buy it and it will be a very handy reference.
Very helpful to my programming work December 31, 2003
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
Polya prescribes different forms to approaching a problem through some guide questions that a solver should ask ("Is there a related problem"). The exposition is quite short, majority of the book is devoted to a glossary of heuristic terms which prove very helpful. Polya uses common problems in high school geometry to demonstrate his point which make it easily understandable. I'm glad I have discovered an excellent book on problem solving which would prove indispensable in my programming career. Other programming books mainly demonstrate features of an OS or a computer language but this book goes into the heart of the computer science which is problem solving.
For math thinkers maybe July 19, 2003
24 out of 36 found this review helpful
There seems to be a cultish following for Polya's book, so I decided to pick it up even though I'm not a mathematician. I'm a philosophy PhD with an interest in "business strategy" (as they call it). The book's a little bit tough to move through, since he chose to write it as a glossary for the bulk of the text. That makes it boring. The more fundamental issue of course is that he's thinking about math when he gives his ideas for solving problems, and more specifically about TEACHING kids to solve math problems. Now, this is useful. And the general tenor is applicable to all kinds of problem solving. But I think it's not the holy grail it's meant to be -- there are other books on problem solving that make more practical sense if you are working on non-formal mathematical puzzles.
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