Hi all, Since I've joined my first contest 2 months ago, I'm glad to say I've reached Specialist. It's been a long struggle, I remember my first contest where I was only able to solve one problem in 3 hours.
Back then, I looked at a problem and had no idea what to do, now I look at a problem and still have no idea what to do.
But now I've learned some things about these problems
You're not meant to know what to do — There's simply too many different types of problems and approaches to them, instead just look at what insights you can get from the problem and go from there
Small test cases are a lifesaver — They not only give you good initial insights into the problem but they help you understand the problem statement itself
Spend as much time as needed — Have you ever looked at the solution and went, "Ohhhhhhhh", that probably means you were one insight away to coming to the solution yourself and we all know that's the best way to learn.
If you're not stuck on a problem you're probably not learning — It's only when you get stuck on a problem that you hit the limits of your current ideas and any new ideas is you learning what to look at and do in that situation
For now, I hope to clear Expert sometime, see you then.
