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he dropped physics because of puzzles but not math?
i see this with a lot with undergrads, they claim the problems are just puzzles and not real life problems, but they are short sighted because if you can't even solve a simple puzzle you won't be able to solve the real life problems either, at least not well
as to how I defined "a class full of puzzles": the puzzles weren't organized around a single mathematical principle. Some were about induction. Others about proof by contradiction. They all had narrative setups, like pirates splitting a pot of gold, or prisoners trying to escape, etc
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how do you decide whether something is a real problem, or just a puzzle ?
context for why I latched onto that word choice:
one of my friends did a dual major for undergrad of math and physics, subsequently dropping physics; he summed up his disinterest as it all being "a bunch of puzzles", i.e. maybe entertaining or even challenging temporarily, although not giving any long-term fundamental insight.