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My first step is "google for at least one day".

You might find that the problem you were planning on spending weeks thinking hard about was solved thousands of years ago by a reclusive greek guy. Or that a couple Nobel Prices in Mathematics have spent 10 years thinking about how to solve it, but are not there quite yet.

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I agree this is good when dealing with hard and important problems; in which the vast store of human knowledge can come into play.

But just a digression, if solving the problem is not that important like with hobbies, it is usually more fun and more rewarding to solve the problem without googling; like playing a video game without looking at a guide beforehand.

There isn't a NOBEL PRIZE in Mathematics. Perhaps you meant the FIELDS MEDAL, or the ABEL PRIZE? Some mathematicians won the Nobel Prize in Physics (e.g. Sir Robert Penrose) Or maybe you were thinking of John Nash, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics?

Heh. I should have googled first.

Q.U.E.D.

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