Paperback, 253 pages
English language
Published Oct. 26, 2014 by Princeton University Press.
How to Solve It (1945) is a small volume by mathematician George Pólya describing methods of problem solving.
A perennial bestseller by eminent mathematician G. Polya, How to Solve It will show anyone in any field how to think straight. In lucid and appealing prose, Polya reveals how the mathematical method of demonstrating a proof or finding an unknown can be of help in attacking any problem that can be "reasoned" out―from building a bridge to winning a game of anagrams. Generations of readers have relished Polya's deft―indeed, brilliant―instructions on stripping away irrelevancies and going straight to the heart of the problem.
Comecei a ler porque este livro, apesar do teor extremamente matemático, é indicado por muitos como contendo técnicas que podem ser aplicadas à resolução de problemas de modo geral. Alguns trechos são de fato interessantes, mas o livro não possui nada de excepcional.
A quick pamphlet distilling a heuristic-based approach to solving math and practical problems (but mostly math) by asking/answering a series of general questions ("what is unknown? does this problem look like something else I know how to solve? does my plan / answer make use of all the data provided?" etc) useful for both teachers to guide students to finding solutions themselves and for self-directed validation. In part a defense (in 1944) of using heuristic / encouraging validated guesses at all, rather than emphasizing rigorous approaches only.
