Where this tool comes from

How to Solve It

The Hungarian mathematician George Pólya, teaching at Stanford, published How to Solve It in 1945.

One thing to hold: A list of four steps: understand the problem, make a plan, carry out the plan, look back.

Why it matters: “Look back” is the step people skip — checking the answer and asking what else the same idea could solve.

Sources: George Pólya, How to Solve It (Princeton University Press, 1945)