Answers come to me when ...

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Answers come to me when ... by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jul 01, 2009 at 10:51 UTC
... when I understand the questions.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by grizzley (Chaplain) on Jul 01, 2009 at 12:15 UTC
... when I push Submit button after spending half an hour writing/formatting/polishing a post at PM. The first incoming answer is my own usually.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by apl (Monsignor) on Jul 01, 2009 at 11:54 UTC
... while I'm asleep. I find I'm more open to possibilities when my critical facilities are turned off. Less second-guessing, I suppose.	[reply]
Re^2: Answers come to me when ... by templar (Chaplain) on Jul 01, 2009 at 21:19 UTC
I always keep a pad, a pen and a voice recorder on my night stand, right next to the alarm clock. Too many times I woke up in the middle of the night with the answer to a difficult problem or a great idea, only to have it totally evaporate by morning.	[reply]
Re^3: Answers come to me when ... by jck (Scribe) on Jul 06, 2009 at 13:28 UTC
another vote for "while sleeping"!! i was surprised to see that "waking up" was an option, while i find that the process of waking often seems to dissipate the answer - ergo the notepad by the bed is particularly useful (although i often forget to be so foresighted!)	[reply]
Re^3: Answers come to me when ... by Jenda (Abbot) on Jul 13, 2009 at 11:36 UTC
How often do you find out later that the clear, great, simple solution is a complete nonsense? Jenda Enoch was right! Enjoy the last years of Rome.	[reply]
Re^2: Answers come to me when ... by tubaandy (Deacon) on Jul 01, 2009 at 13:40 UTC
Same here. When I was in graduate school, my wife would catch me mumbling chemical equations in my sleep before exams. I guess it shows where my head was. tubaandy	[reply]
Re^2: Answers come to me when ... by gokuraku (Monk) on Jul 29, 2009 at 13:27 UTC
Yeah, I hate those times you wake up in the middle of the night, suddenly awake with your brain screaming "YES!!" Stupid brain.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by toolic (Bishop) on Jul 01, 2009 at 13:09 UTC
... it's waaaaaay too late, usually.	[reply]
Re^2: Answers come to me when ... by BioLion (Curate) on Jul 01, 2009 at 13:13 UTC
Most often they come when i have nothing to write them down with... Just a something something...	[reply]
Re^3: Answers come to me when ... by Gavin (Archbishop) on Jul 02, 2009 at 09:44 UTC
.... In the middle of the night. ............And by morning they're gone again!	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by targetsmart (Curate) on Jul 01, 2009 at 11:13 UTC
.. when I don't think too much about it. or when I divert myself to another question. basically after giving mind some kind of relaxation, like taking tea/coffee or any steps I make to completely divert mind from the question. Vivek -- 'I' am not the body, 'I' am the 'soul', which has no beginning or no end, no attachment or no aversion, nothing to attain or lose.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by bschilli (Friar) on Jul 01, 2009 at 13:23 UTC
Pretty much all the time. Correct answers are less common.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by wol (Hermit) on Jul 01, 2009 at 11:28 UTC
...when I get round to thinking about the question. I also find it particularly useful to have the problem visible in front of me. If it's entirely conceptual/abstract, then I'll start with my crayons... -- use JAPH; print JAPH::asString();	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by perliff (Monk) on Jul 01, 2009 at 13:01 UTC
they don't always come do they ? perliff ---------------------- -with perl on my side	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by zwon (Abbot) on Jul 01, 2009 at 17:30 UTC
... when I don't need them	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by bonzo (Novice) on Jul 02, 2009 at 19:47 UTC
Usually after I make a complete idiot of myself....	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by Unforgiven (Hermit) on Jul 01, 2009 at 13:39 UTC
I work at home, so for me, it's when I get tired of trying to find the answer, get up, and take a 10 minute walk or go wash the dishes, that sort of thing. My kitchen sink is my thinking cap, perhaps? Just my luck my thinking cap would be something secured to the counter and unable to be worn. Probably explains a lot.	[reply]
Re^2: Answers come to me when ... by swampyankee (Parson) on Jul 01, 2009 at 15:53 UTC
My kitchen sink is my thinking cap… This does explain why your neighbors keep talking about the guy who keeps standing on his head in the kitchen sink. Of course, they would talk even more if you were walking about with a sink on your head. I find a nice thinking cap can be made with a bit of newspaper or aluminum foil, although my neighbors tend to look away when I wear either out. Information about American English usage here and here. Floating point issues? Please read this before posting. — emc	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by Your Mother (Archbishop) on Jul 02, 2009 at 04:27 UTC
Nice timing. I had one today. The requirements for something pretty complex I built changed suddenly on me. I was in a mild panic: afraid of looking like a total jerk for building something in a way that makes changes impossible/spaghetti. I got up just to walk around the office to calm down, not to think about it, and 20 steps later I realized it was a one line code change because I'd chosen all the right modules beneath it.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by Illuminatus (Curate) on Jul 02, 2009 at 05:34 UTC
I use google, wikipedia, and/or perlmonks (depending on the question). Wasn't it all pretty much stone knives and clubs before that? I can't seem to remember. Oh, that and the idea that 'a stopped clock is right twice a day'... fnord	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by FloydATC (Deacon) on Jul 02, 2009 at 12:24 UTC
...no longer needed -- Time flies when you don't know what you're doing	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by tbone1 (Monsignor) on Jul 01, 2009 at 12:54 UTC
... I'm thinking of something else, about a year later. Related to staircase wit, I suppose. -- tbone1, YAPS (Yet Another Perl Schlub) And remember, if he succeeds, so what. - Chick McGee	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by arc_of_descent (Hermit) on Jul 04, 2009 at 12:25 UTC
I walk away I find that it helps to get out of my chair and take a quick walk around my place. When I get back, I usually have some kind of an answer -- Rohan	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by shmem (Chancellor) on Jul 06, 2009 at 21:03 UTC
...I forgot the question	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by DrWhy (Chaplain) on Jul 10, 2009 at 17:01 UTC
...when I walk away, both literally and figuratively. By which I mean half the time when I ask someone else to solve it for me, the solution comes to be before they can reply. --DrWhy "If God had meant for us to think for ourselves he would have given us brains. Oh, wait..."	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by missingthepoint (Friar) on Jul 03, 2009 at 07:28 UTC
... when I'm being called a wuss or a PHP-lover by fellow Perl coders... (peer pressure) Ca3n w2e ple6ase st4op doi5ng th4is?	[reply]
Re^2: Answers come to me when ... by stonecolddevin (Parson) on Jul 04, 2009 at 08:08 UTC
This is a good one. "Take your Ruby on Rails shit elsewhere!" ;-) meh.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by drip (Beadle) on Jul 08, 2009 at 02:18 UTC
.. when i start asking questions	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by svenXY (Deacon) on Jul 06, 2009 at 08:42 UTC
somewhere between dreaming and waking up fluid decompression - a.k.a on the toilet I really wonder why noone mentioned this before - is it so uncommon??? Regards, svenXY	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by TomKane (Beadle) on Jul 08, 2009 at 12:01 UTC
... I am falling asleep. I will often lie awake worrying about a problem, trying to force the answer to come, and the only result is that I induce insomnia. It's not until I give up and let the problem go that the answer will come to me unbidden. I had this happen to me again just last night! I voted for shower time 'cuz lots of answers pop into my mind then too.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by graceoflarkspur (Acolyte) on Jul 11, 2009 at 16:42 UTC
Not quite "lying drunk in a field" so much as "waking up next to a pile of hard lemonade bottles", but, hey, whatever it takes, right? :)	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by stonecolddevin (Parson) on Jul 04, 2009 at 07:59 UTC
I saw nothing with regards to A.D.D. medications or other such stimulants. My vote goes to lying drunk in a field. meh.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by Moriarty (Abbot) on Jul 06, 2009 at 11:50 UTC
... usually at the most inconvenient times, like at night when I don't have pen and paper handy and I'm too tired to get up and look for them or go to the computer.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by cdarke (Prior) on Jul 06, 2009 at 11:52 UTC
..when I wait at 5 metres (decompression stop). (scuba joke)	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by corenth (Monk) on Jul 06, 2009 at 20:32 UTC
What about the meditation room, AKA The Porceline Throne Room, AKA The Sanctum Sancturum, AKA The Place From Which All Good Ideas Come?	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by pwseo (Initiate) on Jul 14, 2009 at 11:20 UTC
...when I have to do something else that's more important. It's frequent for me to be studying for exam or something like that and then suddendly the answer comes... therefore disturbing the study-time I guess the answers come up as an excuse for not doing the other more important stuff...	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by fernandes (Monk) on Jul 01, 2009 at 19:15 UTC
I voted on fluid compression. I suppose it will be the winner choice. That is an interesting anthropological subject, is not that?	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by raisputin (Scribe) on Jul 07, 2009 at 21:35 UTC
...when I have just written the most convoluted crap imaginable that works and I am driving to or from work and I suddenly have a moment of clarity and think. Wow! Why didn't I think of that 2 hours ago. I usually go back the next day and test it and am pleasantly surprised when it works as I saw it in my head...	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by Tux (Canon) on Jul 02, 2009 at 07:10 UTC
... in my dreams (when I sleep) Enjoy, Have FUN! H.Merijn	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by Bloodnok (Vicar) on Jul 10, 2009 at 12:40 UTC
...frequently when I least expect it/them such that, sometimes, I don't, at the time, recognise it/them as the sought after answer(s)!! A user level that continues to overstate my experience :-))	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by hnd (Scribe) on Jul 03, 2009 at 06:47 UTC
i'am a metal head..... so answers come to me when i'am lost in the death growls of cradle of filth or gothic metal of lacuna coil..........	[reply]
Re^2: Answers come to me when ... by stonecolddevin (Parson) on Jul 04, 2009 at 08:05 UTC
The chick from Lacuna Coil is hot :-D meh.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by Zen (Deacon) on Jul 06, 2009 at 14:24 UTC
You have waking up but not while trying to fall asleep.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by chexmix (Hermit) on Jul 14, 2009 at 18:45 UTC
... I stop threatening to gut them if they DON'T come to me.	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by Anonymous Monk on Jul 01, 2009 at 13:13 UTC
always	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by Anonymous Monk on Jul 14, 2009 at 16:25 UTC
i would have toiled for it for hours n the very next moment i yell "wat the Hell!"... there lies th magik !!!!!!!!!!!!!!	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by StommePoes (Scribe) on Jul 21, 2009 at 11:18 UTC
Neither amphetamines nor sleep was an option! I guess amphetamines don't play well with "decompression."	[reply]
Re: Answers come to me when ... by imrags (Monk) on Jul 23, 2009 at 06:59 UTC
When i don't think of it or When i drive... Infact, it strikes me anywhere but in front of the computer! Raghu	[reply]


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