"How to solve it"

While researching a test question about virus scanners I ran across these ideas regarding "heuristics". It came from a book written in 1945 called "How to solve it".

These are probably the best four suggestions I can give a student on how to deal with the CEH/ECSA/LPT materials. Remembering first off that perhaps the most fundamental heuristic is "trial and error".

1. If you are having difficulty understanding a problem, try drawing a picture.
2. If you can't find a solution, try assuming that you have a solution and seeing what you can derive from that ("working backward").
3. If the problem is abstract, try examining a concrete example.
4. Try solving a more general problem first (the "inventor's paradox": the more ambitious plan may have more chances of success).