As a physics major, it feels like I spend the majority of my waking life solving problems. I’ve calculated the amount of water you get from mixing different ratios of steam and ice, the path of charged particles through magnetic fields and (my favorite) the time it takes for a ball to reach the ground if you drop it from a tall building.
Aside from coming to terms with the fact that I’m a gigantic nerd, I’ve had to confront one question that has persisted throughout my studies: What are any of these problems offering me outside of learning physics and getting my degree? The question isn’t necessarily limited to physics either, but extends to all academic disciplines where you encounter problems. It can be hard to discern what MATH 116’s disk-and-washer method or CHEM 216’s lab practical actually afford you besides a headache and added study hours.
As a freshman, you will come across your fair share of problems. Sure, you’ll have your weekly problem sets and midterms worth 25% of your grade, but most of those will be easy compared to the other problems you’ll face. The new people, new expectations and new experiences Ann Arbor brings are bound to test your limits. Over the course of your time here, you might have career problems, roommate problems, minor problems, major problems and everything in between.
Needless to say, you’ll have some solving to do. Thankfully, all problems — no matter what domain you encounter them in — have some things in common. For example, they can get pretty difficult, and often require ingenuity, patience and tenacity to solve. But if you have the right approach, they can become much easier. Here’s my approach to problem-solving. It’s good for studying quantum physics, responding to lengthy emails and a lot of other stuff as well.
Read the problem
The first step in solving any problem is to know what the problem is. Despite how innocuous this step may seem, it is often the hardest. Reading a problem on your MATH 115 webwork or on your ECON 101 weekly problem set is easy, but understanding what might be going wrong in your relationships, or within yourself, is much more difficult. In any case, it’s important to listen with more than just your ears. For your relationships, be vigilant about how people feel and act, and ask yourself why they might be acting the way they are. If you’re stressed, aim to pinpoint what exactly is causing you stress.
This step also requires some implicit humility. You must assume that you don’t know what to do in every situation and admit that there is a problem that needs to be solved. This is scary. But, when you fully confront the uncomfortable truth of not having the solutions, you can start searching for them.
Don’t be intimidated
There have been plenty of problems that have scared the shit out of me. In my PHYSICS 360 final, for example, I remember there being a special relativity question that I had no idea how to even begin. After the test was done, I had written effectively nothing down for the problem. I got no credit — not even partial.
No matter how difficult or insurmountable the problem you face may feel, you need to at least do something. Partial credit exists in real life. Your problems with your roommate will only grow if you do nothing about them. Likewise, if you find yourself in a difficult class, doing nothing about it will only hurt you (and your grade). You have to initiate that difficult conversation, drop that class or reach out for help. You have to make the leap toward action because doing nothing solves nothing.
Take advantage of all resources available.
You will not have the answer to most of your problems. In fact, most of the time, you won’t even know how to get the answer to your problems. So, it’s important to utilize all the resources available to you, to inform yourself about the problem you’re facing and what potential solutions may be. These resources can vary, depending on the situation that you’re confronted with. The internet and generative artificial intelligence are helpful, but talking with a friend usually turns out to be a lot more useful (and more fun). You will meet some amazing people at the University of Michigan, even if it takes some time. You will meet people that mirror your every passion, and people that couldn’t possibly be more different from you. These people, their experiences and their perspectives are all unique opportunities to learn more about the world around you and more about yourself. They can be helpful in solving physics problems too.
Don’t cut corners
Important issues are not solved quickly. It took almost half a century to experimentally confirm the existence of the Higgs-boson after its theoretical prediction in 1964. While you might not have to do cutting-edge particle physics, the problems you face are likely to be fickle. Approach them with patience and care — and don’t rush them. If your relationship with someone is strained, give them some time before talking to them. If you’re feeling homesick or lonely, don’t expect the feelings to go away the next day.
It’s easy to use a calculator. It’s not easy to go through five pages of algebra just to reach the wrong answer. Difficult problems take time. But, you’ll find that after dedicating the time to work through these problems, you’ll come away a stronger and better person because of it. And when you encounter a similar problem in the future, you’ll know it inside and out. Do the algebra. It’s worth it.
Take time for yourself
You will experience a lot in your time at the University of Michigan. You will laugh, cry, yell, hurt, hope, suffer, dream and — in the middle of it all — you’ll solve a few problems. It’s important to take time and reflect on your choices: What went wrong? What went right? How can I improve? How can things get better? You will fail many times before you find the solutions to your problems, but it’s not the solutions that give the problems meaning; It’s your reflections. These reflections not only prepare you to solve similar problems, but also help you along the inevitable path of self-actualization that will begin when you arrive in Ann Arbor.
Problem-solving is more about you than it is about the problem. It’s about learning who you are, how you respond to adversity and how willing you are to grow as a person. It’s also about being optimistic — knowing that a solution exists and doing everything in your power to find it. In a way, your time here will be defined by the problems you encounter, not because your degree is predicated upon finishing your homework, but because the problems you solve, and how you solve them, are what define you.
Summer Editor in Chief Zhane Yamin can be reached at zhane@umich.edu.
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