How to Solve It

Outline

How to Solve It (1945) is a classic guide to solving problems in mathematics and beyond. George Pólya presents a simple four-step method: understand the problem, devise a plan, carry out the plan, and look back to check and learn. With practical questions and techniques such as working backward and solving simpler related problems, the book has helped generations of students and teachers think more clearly.

• Pólya's method has four steps: understand the problem, devise a plan, carry out the plan, and look back.
• Before you try to solve anything, make sure you fully understand what the problem is asking.
• Working backward from the goal is a practical technique for finding a way into a hard problem.
• Solving a simpler related problem first can reveal an approach that works on the harder one.
• Looking back at a finished solution lets you check it and learn something to use next time.

George Pólya (1887–1985) was a Hungarian mathematician who taught at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and later at Stanford University. He made important contributions to many areas of mathematics and was a pioneer in teaching problem-solving. His books include How to Solve It and Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning.