6 YouTube channels for developing your problem solving skills [Technique Tuesdays]
These were the channels that help me study and sharpen my problem solving skills
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On Tuesdays, I will cover problem-solving techniques that show up in software engineering, computer science, and Leetcode Style Questions📚📚📝📝.
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How can you improve your problem-solving skills?
There are many steps needed. You need to study the underlying concepts. You need to recognize the various techniques and when they are applied. And you need to do practice problems. When you start practice problems, you need to balance both the quality (difficulty of each problem) and the quantity of problems you solve
Sounds a like a bit much doesn’t it?
Luckily, there is a way to make things much easier. Watch experts solve the problem, and see how they progress between steps. Learning from the best can boost your learning journey. In this email/post, I will be covering some of the YouTube channels that I use regularly to sharpen my problem-solving skills. The most important tip is at the very end of the list, so make you sure you read all the way through
Great Channels you should Subscribe to
Byte by Bte- When it comes to Leetcode-related videos, Sam is one of the best in the game. He’s got a gift for describing complicated topics simply and he posts streams where he solves Leetcode problems live. Watching people problem solve live is great because you can compare their process to yours, and thus identify how you can do much better. Watch his most recent episode here. His switch from top-down to bottom-up DP was spectacular.
Back to Back SWE- A great channel to mix techniques and conceptual computer science. His template to solving backtracking problems was very useful, and I actually based my recursive function template on it.
Abdul Bari- Focuses more on the concepts, but his way of presenting information is great to help you apply the ideas he teaches in your own solutions. A must watch, especially if you are a college student.
Ryan Schachte- The best Computer Science visualizations. His videos are useful, visual, and comprehensible. Would highly recommend that you watch his video on the Sliding Window Algorithm and take a lot of notes. I will be covering it on this channel as well.
MindYourDecisions- Presh Talwalkar studied Math and Economics at Stanford. He posts math problems, brainteasers, interview questions, logic puzzles, viral math problems, and interesting topics suggested by viewers from around the world. Most of his videos don’t require advanced math knowledge but do require very advanced problem-solving skills. You’ll see him use a lot of the techniques I cover here (remember Math and Software Engineering require very similar neural pathways).
TED-Ed - The TED foundation needs no introduction. They have done a great service in educating humanity. Their Educational Channel, TED-Ed, has an exceptional collection of riddles, that you can solve here. These riddles work your problem-solving skills without requiring prior knowledge. Working those riddles is a great way to boost your education.
As you practice these problems, don’t forget to also get out there and move. Hard. Scientists have studied multiple things to maintain and boost brain function. These include food, sudokus, chess, meditation etc. Exercise has consistently been the strongest and most reliable method for maintaining and sharpening your brain function. If you haven’t today, put your screen down, get out there, and train.
Still not convinced? Watch the talk below for more.
That is it for this piece. I appreciate your time. As always, if you’re interested in reaching out to me or checking out my other work, links will be at the end of this email/post. If you like my writing, I would really appreciate an anonymous testimonial. You can drop it here. And if you found value in this write-up, I would appreciate you sharing it with more people.
For those of you interested in taking your skills to the next level, keep reading. I have something that you will love.
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