How to deal with difficult problems

[Luke Tan]

I've started reading Goldstein Classical Mechanics recently and I've found the problems inside to be much more difficult than what I'm used to. Before this, I used to read books like David Morin's Introduction to Classical Mechanics, with problems that had extremely detailed solutions and where the general procedure was very well detailed in the earlier chapter.

However, on encountering Goldstein's book, which have very few examples and a varied range of questions, I'm starting to find learning is much more difficult than before. I can't turn to the first few lines for the solutions for hints, or look to the earlier sections in the hope that the solution procedure is similar than before.

What should I do when I encounter a difficult problem? Should I attempt to solve the problem for many days? What if I just can't make progress?

 

[fresh_42]

You should turn to a homework forum and ask for help. That's way better than trying for days or even risking to learn something wrong.

 

[Haborix]

I can't turn to the first few lines for the solutions for hints, or look to the earlier sections in the hope that the solution procedure is similar than before.

There is an important trade off between trying without help and moving forward with the material. When you worked on problems before, how quickly did you turn to the solution to get hints? There is a lot to be said for looking at a problem, giving it a try, and then going a day or two without looking at it before trying again.