Problem Quote by Rene Descartes
“Each problem that I solved became a rule, which served afterwards to solve other problems.”
About This Quote
Source Treatise: Discourse on Method, 1637
Solving problems creates rules that help solve future problems
In simple terms: Learning from problems builds useful rules
Key Takeaway
Apply learned rules to new challenges
Themes
problem solving
learning
rules
Mood
analytical
curious
Type
philosophical
practical
When to use this quote
- education
- software development
- engineering
Key Concepts
inductive reasoning
knowledge transfer
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you turn failures into future solutions?
- When do rules become limiting?
A Different Perspective
Rules may not apply to novel, complex issues
![“[About Pierre de Fermat] It cannot be denied that he has had many exceptional ideas, and that he is a highly intelligent man. For my part, however, I have always been taught to take a broad overview of things, in order to be able to deduce from them general rules, which might be applicable…” quote by Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/588/ren-descartes-1376_able_about-pierre-de-fermat-it-cannot-be-deni_89929.jpg)
![“And what more am I? I look for aid to the imagination. [But how mistakenly!] I am not that assemblage of limbs we call the human body; I am not a subtle penetrating air distributed throughout all these members; I am not a wind, a fire, a vapor, a breath or anything at all that I can image. I am…” quote by René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/207/ren-descartes-1376_human-body_and-what-more-am-i-i-look-for-aid-to-the_115493.jpg)
