Thinking books · Problem solving · Ken Watanabe, 2009

Problem Solving 101 — the big ideas

A short, deliberately simple guide originally written for Japanese schoolchildren.

Free — no account needed to read

The big ideas

Its logic tree method — splitting a problem into parts that do not overlap and together cover it — is the single most useful decomposition habit there is.

It insists on separating the problem from the solution and from the cause, and on writing all three down, because they get conflated within seconds otherwise.

It is aimed at children and is not simplistic: the same structure appears in consulting practice under longer names.

Practise it — no need to have read it

Take "I am not making progress". Split it into parts that do not overlap and that together cover the whole thing.

A hint: Then pick the branch where evidence would change your mind fastest.

Where it shows up in real life

• Any vague problem
• Deciding where to start
• Explaining a problem to someone else

Described in our own words with the source named — never quoted, and not a substitute for reading the book.