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Today was the first day of classes for the 2012 spring semester at Western Kentucky University. I am taking Real Analysis and working on my thesis this semester. My professor for analysis gave some insight into research. As everyone who has done math research knows, it is rather easy to get stuck at a certain point. She says when she gets stuck, she closes all of the books, notes, etc., related to the problem on which she is working. She then decides to read something completely different. From this alternate reading, she is sometimes able to discover a method or information that could be applied to her problem. Granted this does not always work; however, it is an interesting approach to take.
Last semester, my algebra professor gave an alternate idea. He has several different problems to work on at the same time. When he has done all he can on one problem, he moves on to another and comes back later.
What do you do when you get stuck on a certain problem.