Many may be solving problems just by applying techniques and algorithms to solve them, then it becomes more of a selection process from a pool of algorithms and techniques that you already have. This is not wrong, but this is not all about solving a problem. Solving a problem requires a much more diverse skillset, algorithm selection in one of them but, what about the others. To help identify what kind of a skillset, let me ask those questions. How much time do you stick to your thought process before giving up and switch to another approach? How fast do you narrow down your solution space? Do you found yourself more often being biased to an approach just because you thought it’s similar to a problem you solved before but then, you found that you are drifted away from reaching the correct solution? Did you ever solve a problem but then you realized that it’s much simpler than you thought?

This story is a walkthrough solving the Determine if Two Strings Are Close problem while reflecting important problem-solving skills that you may want to develop and mistakes to avoid.

Enjoy 😊