Introduction

This is not a book about algorithms. Certainly, it is full of algorithms, but that’s not what this book is about. This book is about possibilities. Its purpose is to present you not only with the prerequisite mandatory knowledge of the available problem-solving techniques, but more importantly to expand your ability to frame new problems and to think creatively — in essence, to solve the problem of how to solve problems, a talent that has become a lost art. Instead of devoting the necessary time and critical thinking required to frame a problem, to adjust our representation of the pieces of the puzzle, we have become complacent and simply reach for the most convenient subroutine, a magic pill to cure our ills. The trouble with magic is that, empirically, it has a very low success rate, and often relies on external devices such as mirrors and smoke. As with magic, most of the seemingly successful applications of problem solving in the real world are illusory, mere specters of what could have been achieved.