Mazes, physics problems, and the direction of life

When you start a maze, no matter how large or complex, you don't wait until you can see the entire solution. You just find a place to begin, and you go.  If you hit a dead end, fine, backtrack a bit and try something else.  Eventually, you'll get there.

It seems natural when we do mazes.  Explaining that isn't usually necessary.  Physics problems work the same way, but my biggest challenge is often getting students to recognize that.  Students like knowing exactly what they're going to do the whole way from start to finish before they begin writing.  When they can't, they often freeze up.  They'll stare at the paper, waiting for it all to suddenly materialize like those hidden 3D pictures.  I've seen students start to get the shakes and tear up from the pressure.  A common conversation looks like this:
Student--"I don't know where to begin"
Me--"Where do I usually tell you to begin?"
Student--"The unknown"
Me--"Good.  Write it down."
Student--"Now what?"
Me--"What usually comes next?"
Student--"Givens"
Me--"Good.  Write them down."
Student--"I don't know what equation to use"
Me--"Where could you find ones that might work?"
Student--"The equation sheet"
Me--"Good. Find the best candidates."

And so on.  They almost always know where to start.  They ignore it, though, trying to work out all the steps in their heads.  Sometimes, my class is the first one that presents them with problems they can't see clearly all at once, and it's frustrating.  It takes practice to get used to writing down what you do know before you know where it's going to lead.  The ones that get a hang of it are the real learners. The point isn't to always know what the answer will be, or even if there will be one.  The point is to work the problem. It's really okay to mess up or get stuck along the way, but you have to be willing to start.

It's a useful lesson in many ways.  We don't know how relationships will progress, but we start them anyway.  We don't know how careers will progress, but we start them anyway.  I give the same advice to students when they fret over colleges and majors, thinking that they have to decide what they'll do with the rest of their lives.  I tell them not to think of it like that, but to just find a good place to start.  If you change your mind along the way, fine.  Sometimes changing your mind is a good way to make sure it still works.  It's a lesson I've had to remind myself because I've never been able to give good answers to questions about my future life plans.  I had to write something down for my high school and college graduations, though.  I looked up my high school year book, and I chose to say "Become a good teacher, get married, and jump into a volcano."  I am amused by my 17 year old mind.  My 21 year old mind said "Whatever I do, wherever I live, it will be because I can, not because I must."  I apparently learned a lot in college.  Several people have asked me exactly why I moved to Ely.  "It feels right" is all I can say.  Several people have asked me how long I plan to be here. "Hopefully as long as it still feels right" is all I can say.  The people that ask HOW I came to live in Ely get a much longer, more entertaining story.