TooGoodToLoose's blog

Veteran Competitive Programmers of Codeforces — What would you say to your younger self?
By TooGoodToLoose, history, 6 years ago, In English

Hello Codeforces Community.

This question is for people who have been doing CP for a lot of time. Given a chance to start all over again, what advice would you give to your former self to improve faster? You can include anything from mistakes you frequently did and improved upon after a long time to topics you procrastinated studying.?

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +9 Vote: I do not like it

We would really love to hear from the pros.

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +129 Vote: I do not like it

I would tell myself to start younger. Now my brain is all mushy, slow and unwilling to accept new things.

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    6 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

    i'm a bit curios, being red means a lot of skills and knowledge. this should — i think — help you to learn the new things more easier/faster !

    this is just what i think, could you explain more, please?

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      6 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +18 Vote: I do not like it

      You got it backwards: ability to learn new things fast can lead to you becoming red.

      I can certainly observe the difference in my cognitive abilities compared to when I was half my age. Note that I don't have any objective measurement, so it might be subject to some bias or have different causes then just age.

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    6 years ago, # ^ |
    ← Rev. 2   Vote: I like it +8 Vote: I do not like it

    How old are you now? And at what age do you think your brain started mushying? I am 23 and wondering how long I've got left to cram :P

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +487 Vote: I do not like it

Buy Bitcoin.

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +80 Vote: I do not like it

When practicing, it's better to solve a few difficult problems than a large number of easy problems.

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    6 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +42 Vote: I do not like it

    Actually I think solving many easy-med problems will lead you higher in all ranks. Consistency in not too hard problems is more important than solving very hard ones. Sad, but true. However climbing up codeforces rank ladder doesn't have to be somebody's ultimate goal :). Solving hard problems is of course more fun.

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +18 Vote: I do not like it

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6 years ago, # |
← Rev. 4   Vote: I like it +51 Vote: I do not like it

  1. (insert any competitive programming topic here) is not as hard as you thought. Don't hesitate to learn it.

  2. There are no hard problems, only ones that you haven't known how to solve.

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +45 Vote: I do not like it

Am I allowed to go back in time before I even started competitive programming? I would recommend starting doing it earlier. I wish I had started when I was like 13.

If I am not, I would just say the standard adage:

"Solve more problems."

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    6 years ago, # ^ |
    ← Rev. 3   Vote: I like it +51 Vote: I do not like it

    justin beiber: i had my first love when i was 13.

    joomas: i had my first contest when i was 13.

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +66 Vote: I do not like it

I wish I had known "when ur rating drops it doesn't mean that ur bad"

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

Rating is just a number, enjoy and have fun :D

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +14 Vote: I do not like it

I would advise me not to start competitive because I will fail ! Now I am addicted to that, there is no medicine !

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +4 Vote: I do not like it

One word: math

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    6 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it 0 Vote: I do not like it

    Why? Can you explain in details?

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      6 years ago, # ^ |
      ← Rev. 8   Vote: I like it +36 Vote: I do not like it

      The first editorial I read talked about solutions with data structures. I was under the impression that learning many data structures would improve my problem solving skills dramatically. So, I started learning about different stuff like trees, graphs, persistence, and different programming paradigms like functional and event-driven programming. I did benefit from all these stuff, but later on I realized how much I was merely compensating for my lack of good mathematical background. I was comfortable with geometry but discrete math wasn't my strongest point. It became even more apparent when many competitors that I know of with close or better rating expressed their discomfort about learning some of the things mentioned above and how they found solutions or alternatives based on some mathematical theories or by proving that some big cases can be skipped or solved separately with a different formula.

      It's like riding a racing car, just getting the best car out there isn't enough to guarantee winning a race. The racer himself should also work on his strategies and techniques to increase the odds of winning

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        6 years ago, # ^ |
          Vote: I like it -14 Vote: I do not like it

        I did benefit from all these stuff, but later on I realized how much I was merely compensating for my lack of good mathematical background

        Well said! I think this is the problem with most div 2 coders. They try to compensate their weak math/problem solving skills by memorizing complex data structures and algorithms and hope to apply them "in their entirety" to solve problems. Then they complain that div 2C, div 2D is so hard.

        Lol. That's funny!

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it -16 Vote: I do not like it

It's not just about knowledge.

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    6 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +6 Vote: I do not like it

    I don't know why this was downvoted :D anyway I still believe it is not just about knowing many algorithms..

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +3 Vote: I do not like it

don't play dota2

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    6 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it -8 Vote: I do not like it

    No, play dota 2!

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      6 years ago, # ^ |
        Vote: I like it +7 Vote: I do not like it

      I don't get it... my answer is downvoted because I am not veteran competitive programmer or what?

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        6 years ago, # ^ |
          Vote: I like it -28 Vote: I do not like it

        Because you are trying to stop people to play Dota 2

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          6 years ago, # ^ |
            Vote: I like it +32 Vote: I do not like it

          What??? You are genius? I just say what I whould say to myself for achive more in cp and for not doing some mistakes that i did.

          Just hate for no reason.

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it -39 Vote: I do not like it

Kill yourself now because what is in sight for you isn't pretty.

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it -10 Vote: I do not like it

Learn about the algorithms BEFORE starting CP and see your rating go down

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    6 years ago, # ^ |
      Vote: I like it +38 Vote: I do not like it

    If you are gray or green your problem likely isn't that you haven't learned the right algorithms. Solving Div2A or Div2B problems rarely if ever requires knowing any standard algorithms, they are all only about being able to think.

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +9 Vote: I do not like it

Learn more math — especially Combinatorics.

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +2 Vote: I do not like it

Be more hardworking I guess

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6 years ago, # |
  Vote: I like it +46 Vote: I do not like it

Drop it in 2016.

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