Thinking like a computer scientist means thinking like a problem solver. You need to be able to analyze problems and come up with viable solutions. This is one of the most important traits of a computer scientist, not just any CS major. Thinking like a computer scientist extends beyond just solving problems with your knowledge of programming and algorithms. It requires you to think logically, methodically, analytically, and creatively whenever possible. As cliché as it sounds, being able to think like a computer scientist is something that’s developed over time through practice, experience, and education. In this blog post we’ll go over some techniques that you can use to become better at analyzing problems and coming up with viable solutions; specifically when it comes to writing software as a computer scientist in the software engineering industry.
What does it mean to think like a computer scientist?
Thinking like a computer scientist means you’re able to analyze problems and come up with viable solutions that work. It requires you to think logically, methodically, analytically, and creatively whenever possible. This is why it’s so important to develop the skills and mindset outlined above. If you can’t analyze the problem at hand and come up with a solution, then how can you expect to become a great software engineer? Thinking like a computer scientist extends beyond just solving problems with your knowledge of programming and algorithms; it also requires you to think logically, methodically, analytically, and creatively whenever possible.
Analyze the problem
Before you can come up with a viable solution to a problem, you first have to understand what problem you’re solving. This is where a critical thinking lens comes into play; you need to be able to analyze the problem at hand and think through possible solutions. This will allow you to determine the best solution for the problem you’re trying to solve. Some ways to do this are to think about the problem at hand holistically, break the problem down into smaller parts, and brainstorm possible solutions to the problem. Be careful while breaking down the problem into smaller parts because you can end up solving the wrong problem. If you break down a problem into smaller parts, you’re essentially making the problem smaller. For example, if you have a problem finding the shortest route between two cities, the problem may not be “find the shortest route between two cities” but rather “find the route that makes the least amount of turns”. In this case, the problem you’re trying to solve is the wrong problem. To be safe, make sure you first think about the problem holistically, break the problem down into smaller parts, and brainstorm possible solutions to the problem before you start trying to break it down into smaller parts.
Form a hypothesis
Once you understand what problem you’re solving, you can start to formulate a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a potential solution that you’re trying to test. A hypothesis is a hunch or educated guess as to what might work. A hypothesis can be based on your understanding of the problem and what you’ve observed so far. For example, if you’ve been observing that people are often stuck for a long time when solving a problem, a hypothesis you can form is that having a small sign that says “Try Again” in front of the problem could help people solve their problems faster. If you’ve done some research on the problem, you can also form a hypothesis as to what solution might solve the problem at hand. Once you’ve formed your hypothesis, you can begin testing it to see if it works. This is where you observe the results of your hypothesis, think about what could have led to those results, and adjust your hypothesis if you think it needs to be changed.
Assessing the outcome of your testing
Once you’ve tested your hypothesis and observed the results through testing, you need to assess if your hypothesis was correct. If you hypothesized that people are often stuck for a long time when solving a problem, then you need to observe how people solve the problem without your sign and how people solve the problem with your sign. This way you can determine which situation worked better. You can do this by tracking the results of your testing and also by observing how people are solving the problem. If you see that people are solving the problem differently when your sign is present, you can use this as an opportunity to break down the problem you’re trying to solve.
Look for potential improvements
After you’ve tested your hypothesis and observed the results through testing, you can look for potential improvements in your hypothesis. A potential improvement is any change you can make to your hypothesis to make it work better or work at a faster pace. You can look for potential improvements in your hypothesis in several ways. The most obvious way is to look for potential improvements in your hypothesis based on what you observed while observing the results of your testing. Based on the results of your testing and how people are solving the problem, you can form potential improvements to your hypothesis that can help solve the problem better. Another way you can look for potential improvements in your hypothesis is by thinking about what else you’ve observed while observing the results of your testing. For example, if you’ve observed that people are often stuck for a long time when solving a problem, you can think of what else you’ve observed while observing the results of your testing and form potential improvements to your hypothesis that can help speed up the process of solving the problem.
Conclusions
As with any other part of engineering, you have to have a problem to solve and a design to implement. You can’t just create a design or implement a design; you have to use your engineering skills to solve the problem at hand. As a computer scientist, you’re going to be solving problems related to business problems, sometimes with a technical component or component. The best way to become a great software engineer is to understand how software engineers solve problems and what are some techniques can help you become a better problem solver.