Good question! I stop the “conceptual pathfinding” process when the concept has clicked into place.
Textbook exercises are a great way of testing your understanding, of course. But I think the signal of “this feels like it’s making sense” is important, and usually precedes being ready to work on problem sets. Textbook exercises are a way of going beyond the limits of feeling like a concept makes sense and probing the gaps in your knowledge.
Conceptual pathfinding functions as a second way to identify and fill in those gaps, one that’s complementary to exercises.
Good question! I stop the “conceptual pathfinding” process when the concept has clicked into place.
Textbook exercises are a great way of testing your understanding, of course. But I think the signal of “this feels like it’s making sense” is important, and usually precedes being ready to work on problem sets. Textbook exercises are a way of going beyond the limits of feeling like a concept makes sense and probing the gaps in your knowledge.
Conceptual pathfinding functions as a second way to identify and fill in those gaps, one that’s complementary to exercises.