Regardless of newcomer, almost-newcomer, or whatmore, students will often enough find the SAME exercise but as different examples, using differing values and maybe too diverse situations --but all of the examples being the SAME general form. That is why studying and applying algebra that way is so useful.Delta2 said:I can't disagree with this but usually to understand the insights (which are generalized insights if i can call them that way, they refer to a generic version of the problem) we have to work through specific instances, examples of the problem , usually one (at least a novice-newcomer) doesn't understand the generalized version unless he works with specific examples first.