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A comment on Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video]. Parent comment

Re:Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video] by WalterBright on Tuesday December 26, 2023 @10:08PM (#38778670)
I approach tests by going to the next question if the answer isn't immediately solvable. Then, when reaching the end, I go back and spend more time on the ones I hadn't solved. That maximizes the score.

I apply that technique everywhere. For example, when working the bug list, I'll solve the easy problems first, and the toughest last. That also maximizes the score, as the bug submitter's only care is if the bug is fixed, not how hard it is to fix.

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Re:Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video] by nick__m on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @12:45AM (#38779441)
Almost completely off topic but you are good example of nominative determinism !
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Re:Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video] by WalterBright on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @01:32AM (#38779620)
In the Air Force, my dad's assigned office mate was Major Smart. A line of my ancestors were the Dumbles.
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Re:Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video] by LanceH on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @02:38AM (#38779887)
While in the Marines, I knew of a Major Hazzard and a Captain Justice. I really wanted to be there when they first met.
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Re:Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video] by remram on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @03:50AM (#38780222)
Given a fast enough supply, this means you never look at the difficult bug reports at all.
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Re:Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video] by WalterBright on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @03:55AM (#38780252)
It also clears the mind if one clears out the easy ones first. It's like when I feel like working on the car, the first thing is clean the garage.

(If the reports come in faster than they can be fixed, of course one can never catch up regardless of the algorithm.)

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Re:Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video] by sverhagen on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @04:01AM (#38780289)
In (software) engineering you want to take on enough of the hard stuff early on, to make sure you're not painting yourself into a corner with naive solutions...
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Re:Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video] by WalterBright on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @04:19AM (#38780376)
There is always the concern that one has made a fundamental error. Can't worry about it too much, though, or one will never get anywhere.
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Re:Veritasium: The SAT Question Everyone Got Wrong [video] by dsego on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @07:27AM (#38781335)
I applied this to school tests but not in my work, well sometimes, if I'm procrastinating and need a few quick wins. But for timed tests, it's essential to skip something you're struggling with and get some points on the other questions.
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