Richard Hamming Quotes

It is better to have a bad method than to have none.

The best place to solve a problem is on paper.

There's a solution to every problem. I just have to find the right solution to fix this problem

Know how to solve every problem that has been solved.

How do we attack important problems? Pose the right question.

If you can talk brilliantly about a problem

Problem-solving typically involves the construction of discriminative stimuli

I Use The Square To Begin My Solutions Because The Square Is A Non-choice, Really. In The Course Of Development, I Search For The Forces That Would Disprove The Square.

Smarter is always the answer.

I like to think that since I was about 19, I have studied human decision-making and problem-solving.

You've outlined the problem very well. Solutions are much more difficult to come by.

The great problem now is that we don’t know what to do.

Lots of people ask me for advice as if I somehow have found some easy way to create a solution to a problem, and there's no such thing.

That is the problem we have in Argentina: we do not sit down and think.

I give people ideas on how to solve intractable problems.

Indeed, the most important part of engineering work-and also of other scientific work-is the determination of the method of attacking the problem, whatever it may be, whether an experimental investigation, or a theoretical calculation. ... It is by the choice of a suitable method of attack, that intricate problems are reduced to simple phenomena, and then easily solved.

Always find different ways to accomplish the mission. Then run a counter-analysis and list the advantages and disadvantages. When you have done that, you are ready to make a decision.

That's all managing is: just coming up with the right questions and getting the right answers.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

Without improving our mind there is no way to solve our human problems.

Life is filled with problems to be solved and tensions to be managed. Sometimes it helps to know which is which.

Finally, you're right about one point, your entire way of thinking is predicted by what you're immersed in so you know you won't make a bad decision. You can make a bad decision but it's still in the good sphere normally if you work well. You're prepared to face a crew who wants to know everything and poses a hundred questions a minute, because you know you have good reflexes and can respond very quickly.

Whoever makes it a rule to test action by thought, thought by action, cannot falter, and if he does, will soon find his way back to the right road.

Leadership is solving problems.

Almost everything I do when I approach an operational problem comes from the time I've been in space. It's a way of organizing your thoughts. We use problem-solving; what we call "what-if-ing." What if this happened? What would we do? We go over plan B, C, D, E, F, and whatever else, depending on the criticality of what we're doing. This kind of thing can be applied almost everywhere, even at home.