Candidate Master in 1 Year - This Strategy Works Wonders

Some tips on how to select problems for practice, how to use editorials/solutions properly, why you should take notes of your thoughts, and how to reflect on your attempts at a problem.
probably my best thumbnail ever
Description stuff:
Kaunta's profile: codeforces.com/profile/kaunta
usaco.guide: usaco.guide/
Topic streams: • Topic Streams
Errichto's discord: / discord
Timestamps:
Intro 00:00
Before practice 01:04
During practice 02:48
After practice 06:39
Conclusions 08:46

[@PriyanshAgarwal]

Simply wow. OP thumbnail too :)

[@shrawanimore8819]

@@nitindas208 eeee

[@dewanshgupta4233]

re bhai

[@abhinavkumar5298]

I loved the idea of getting as much information from a problem as you can. Feels like the right way of learning!

[@krsurrya517]

I had never thought about meta-cognition the way you explained, this is unique! Thank you!!

[@synister_2168]

Thank you so much for the tips. I will definitely try them out :)

[@fxrcode7923]

6:53, Neetcode also used spreadsheet to record each problem analysis along the leetcoding, quite useful for reflection. I think your metacognition is quite useful to record the mind flow~

[@shubhamchandra9258]

Analysing metacognition might not be recommended and required for beginners. Its only after you get good at the game and you need to micro optimize your thoughts.

[@LoneWolf.]

"Your practice will tell you what topics you need to learn" love this statement. My strategy is similar to it.

[@sagarshah5341]

Dude you are legit so cool man! 💪🏽😎 I just love everything you post.

[@anupestuff]

To Colin or anyone else, To you folks see loop invariants as a effective thought process? It helps me a lot in some problems. Also thinking about making progress in each iteration, guarantees for termination and so on help! Any other thinking paradigm you folks follow?

[@pearljam4ever215]

thanks for all your videos please keep up the work ❤

[@paulkk4168]

i think i'm kinda already doing what you said in the video! i won't ever stop until i get the result i want thank you.

[@shubham320]

Very good tips. I'll try to implement them, if worked for me I'll definitely share my experience with you. Thank you.

[@04sahilambure75]

is it working?

[@vibhanshupatel9671]

Share experiences

[@nskybytskyi]

Great overview. I have only one minor note: for me, most of the useful reflections happen **immediately** after I realized what idea I was missing to complete a solution. Moreover, I sometimes find my conclusions from reflections done long after the contest faulty, as they do work for slow-paced practice but not in the time trouble of a real contest. But this thing is hugely personal, so idk, use it at your own risk

[@peter8261]

Yeah asking for help is important. I'm doing codeforces problems right now just to practice as I learn to code. I ran into an 800 level combinatorics problem but I didn't know what combinatorics was about. I tried solving this thing for like 6 hours. Asked for help online, and someone was like "oh you need to know about this thing, here's a wikipedia article." I read it, watched a video, and solved it in around 20 minutes. Knowing when to stop and just ask for help is extremely important. Some of the codeforces problems, even the 800 ones, might require you to know something in order to solve them. And if you simply do not know the trick you won't be able to solve the problem.

[@luci8406]

care to give a link to the article?

[@TricoliciSerghei]

Thanks for the advice, nice video.

[@sanskarsharma9494]

thanks for all the content : )

[@randomcubestuff3426]

this is one of the least bs how to practice videos i have seen on any topic i feel like! good job!

[@MrDeeb00]

Thank you, for some reason you're uplifting

[@sokks5]

Congrats on 20k yooo!!

[@abdopower5913]

could you plz make video about which math skills we need to be better in cp or programming generally 😊

[@hvsalza4068]

you're good kid Colin, thanks

[@anonnona6940]

One should definitely practice watching this video regularly.

[@nayeemislam8118]

Awesome guideline. Can you please give a more detail about the spreadsheet recordkeeping, I mean some sort of example of spreadsheet.

[@lx4302]

1. I just do whichever problem, any type. doing different problems allows me to creatively reuse those thought process that led me to solve a hard problem for later problems. 2. I then practice by solving specific problems of only a certain type 3. improve solving speed, usually from lots of experience in observation problems, and good implementation skills and tricks. to improve, i am studying classical algo/ds. practicing ad-hoc and non-classical problems are good over time, classical knowledge just becomes common sense. no doubt, problem solving intuition will get stronger. c++ knowledge, good code readability, and usage seems to be a good thing to improve imo

[@theta_prime]

Could you describe your thought process and its types? E.g., materialization (thinking about something's individual parts, interactions, functions, and bringing things into a more material/graspable form.), interpretation sense (the ability to sense when your interpretation is off and to focus on fixing it), answer tracing @ scanning (thinking of all the ways one might arrive at a conclusion), etc.

[@mightguy7265]

Please, try to read this Galen. A thanks to you. I practiced a lot (for 3 years) and never got to be an expert. My practice method was basically choosing a problem of 1700-2000 difficulty and trying it for 1 hour. After that I've always read the editorial or seen someone else's code. Like that I've done (not solved) 1500+ problems over past 3 years and 10% of them were actually solved by myself. Then I've started watching your videos and learned that you emphasize on thinking for a long time and I thought, "ok, let's give it a try". You know, I've solved 11 problems of 2100-2200 difficulty (non dp, dp is my weak spot, I'll train it later) this month and you know what, my rating is now 1700+. And now I like to think about solution for 2-3 days no matter how difficult they are. Feels like a problem solver rather than a coder. Thank you very much Galen.

[@aliozdemir8180]

yeah, you mentioned very good point, you have to solve it on your own, but you missed some point that, sometimes we might not have an enough knowledge about what if there are another appropiate topic we can use on solution, or you may not know that topic for solving that problem, so what will you do

[@aliozdemir8180]

for that reason, idk maybe after 200 solved problems, we might understand, i know the topic and i have to solve it lonely

[@theta_prime]

Could you describe your thought process and its types? E.g., materialization (thinking about something's individual parts, interactions, functions, and bringing things into a more material/graspable form.), interpretation sense (the ability to sense when your interpretation is off and to focus on fixing it), answer tracing @ scanning (thinking of all the ways one might arrive at a conclusion), etc.

[@coefficient1359]

Thumbnail OP🔥

[@_KaifSayyad]

Hey Collin hope you are doing great. I have a request for you. Can you please make video on interactive problems, i mean what kind of problems are these and how to attempt them. I am a beginner and recently while practising I encountered one. Please if it is possible make one. Hope yuu will see this comment.

[@user-fb7hw1el1c]

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!

[@learntechgrow4777]

You are KING!

[@kippe1221]

What i do is to construct the generic version of a algorithm in my head and argue about every step until it makes sense. When im in bed for example, i think about how to reverse a singly linked list or a generic BFS, when i am able to do this i know i can recall it from memory whenever i want, building the fundament and later i am able to change it in code to what i need. I guess the trick is to be able to construct the whole thing in your head without any other stimulation or hints. Works for me

[@lx4302]

Exactly . That's kind of like what intuition is.

[@mercy2714]

"Learning relearning, Learning Relearning U are too concerned about it JUST let your thoughts flow" -master oogway ✌️

[@e00d20]

thanks for keeping it post

[@giandie]

great content!

[@tylerstown7394]

Thank you sir for your guidance.

[@nopecharon]

Hehe hi bro 😁

[@jainamshah4328]

It's easier than it looks. I found learning soft design (like setups - I use SERUM) much more scary but it's doable, you just gotta be

[@336_saranyamaity8]

The thumbnail is DOPE !

[@rahulsbhatt]

This video helped me understand that I can do it too and I loved how you sort of gave a "template" on how to improve. Thank you so much for posting this, Colin 🙏

[@priyanzhu]

Colin is a legend!!

[@gamecode7121]

That thumbnail is hilarious 😁

[@Megh315]

Thanks!

[@bingh1454]

The thumbnail is gold

[@kimjong-un4521]

Thank you

[@bitwisetube]

Thanks 😊

[@iamparitosh]

Awesome

[@shashibhushanrajput2461]

i love topic streams

[@stratonov]

Camera quality improved

[@amanlamba1080]

When I pratice then the only problem which I face is not understanding the editorial, like I have no issue putting in the work but after all that I'm still not able to understand the editorial? Any solution for that?

[@shanewalsch]

He said in the video that you may not be able to understand the editorial from the first time. Try rereading it later, if it doesn't help go ask help, on errichto server for example

[@NoName-du1ih]

Thanks

[@imaninfj5155]

Thank you!

[@Sachin-qn1wf]

thumbnail op😂🔥

[@thisdotdev9397]

I never post comments but thank you for this

[@bhaskarmishra8479]

i got to know today why my rating isn't improving :)

[@gdthegreat]

Wow, this new thumbnail is soooo nice.

[@programmertik2046]

Hey you said. Ask help from others as last resort But in a way an editorial is also someone others thinking so how is it different ??

[@sakibhossain6136]

Colin I'm comfortable with tree, graph but not comfortable with simple problem....What to do ?

[@vellankiindeevar5530]

and even simpler once are tough for me

[@AMANKumar-qn2nn]

🔥🔥

[@vish-sw9dc]

Forget competitive programming i can't even do bssic

[@aadarshktofficial]

Question - Does kaunta has practised from somewhere else also or only from codeforces.

[@arnav6885]

Key learning from this video 1> If you cannot resolve a problem that you did before you didn't learn enough from it. 2> Choose a problem that is difficult for you or Helps you to learn a new topic(allocate more time in the thought process around 30 minutes) and code the solution once you understand it. Note down what you are thinking of as you do it. 3> If something goes out of your head, run after it. 4> Metacognition -When you are solving a problem note down what you are doing and when you look back at these notes you will know where you went wrong(and the best way to do this is by recording). 5> Once you are done with the problem maintain a spreadsheet where there is a summary of the solution. 6> Make sure you know how to use big ideas/topics from solved problems. 7> Treat every problem as a learning process. 8> Your practice will tell you what topics you need. hope it helps it.

[@user-fk1wo2ys3b]

❤❤❤❤

[@vellankiindeevar5530]

is watching editorials is bad ? i am just starting , and i am unable to do atleast one question on my own how should i get better ? pls help me

[@ebrahim1bd]

I use this KZbin thumbnail to set as my PC profile picture

[@justhooman4682]

Bruh wasn't expecting you to be a meme lord lol but good nonetheless

[@tanjakilibarda9802]

pog vid

[@SushantKumar-ui3mn]

Non coders will also jump into the video seeing the OP thumbnail

[@sunsun4364]

Commenting for engangment

[@qwi3630]

hope you will participate in Saturday's div1

[@nirajandata]

galen cloudin

[@williamwambua7710]

I know you have a number theory video...but can you plz make one on chinese remainder theory? Been looking for one but i can't get it....Lets make one starting from the beginner steps then solving to kind of complex problems plzzzz in c++

[@ColinGalen]

Does it come up often enough to warrant a whole video? On Codeforces, there are only 13 problems with that tag (out of over 7,325). I don't know where to find problems on it anyway, other than the codeforces tag.

[@williamwambua7710]

@@ColinGalen okay i just wanna know how to practice in such cause of my cryptography class...if you can help out with the implementation walk through i will be able to take it up from there.

[@SurajSingh-pb4bs]

I think Errichto has made a video on it you can check that out.

[@williamwambua7710]

@@SurajSingh-pb4bs He just explained what i already know...i need the implementation bit

[@Cyber_Wizard]

Do you write your thoughts process? And at @7:00 do you also do that?

[@haoshoku8496]

If possible can u make a video on FFT?

[@12six69]

Fast Fourier transform?

[@haoshoku8496]

@@12six69 yes

[@imad-ice]

how did he have that much hair i mean how to have that much long hair , i mean how to live stress free

[@kawaii_kraken]

this guy makes good content

[@MDMasudRana-lt1or]

❣️

[@hreshigaming395]

Do you remember overule

[@Arcvx]

Bump?

[@shreyashchoudhary2637]

Why leetcode logo was their?

[@MiketheCoder]

Btw so if I solved 680 problems but some of them were reading the editorial, should I resolve all 680 problems???????

[@saksham9170]

Try solving 10 oldest problems, if you can figure out the solution again, then it's okay otherwise you didn't learn anything from the problems.

[@shaileshnavale1819]

I am gonna quote myself because why not ?? 😂

[@alexeyamosov664]

Oh, damn it, and I thought I was good for reaching blue in a year… I mean, I have a justification that I have a rather tough school, but still

[@user-fk1wo2ys3b]

Thank you!!

[@pinyichang4680]

some tips

[@girishgarg2816]

From a distance, the thumbnail suggests, Grandmaster -> Pupil

[@ujjwaljha202]

Hey everyone , my name is ujjwal Jha and I started cp 3 months ago and after giving 3-4 contests in codechef , due to some reasons I stopped giving contests. Now , I again started giving contests from 5-6 days in both the CF and CC and I was able to solve 3 question in CF , 2 in CF , 3 in CC and 2 in CC div 2 and I am quite familiar with DSA. Now I am in need of answers of certain questions? Suppose if I am able to solve A, B , C during contests. Should i try to solve all the all the questions or only D after contests? And I don't know which videos or resources to follow to learn concepts of CP? So if you know some good videos or resources please tell me (most probably videos) What topics should I do?(This is where I am most confused) (Like in number theory there are lots of topic but I dont know which topics are important)) And also how should I proceed further?

[@averegeyoutuber9133]

9:55 Here is my comment. Can you release my family from your basement now? Please!!

[@Arcvx]

Bump.

[@jiaaljo558]

[@Arcvx]

bump

[@user-en5vj6vr2u]

F dude these psets are too hard

[@sahilanand30]

:)

[@k.m.junayedahmed3748]

Bru you look like Baba Yaga

[@girishgarg2816]

All hail memelord!

[@abdelmajidkansoussi6904]

after 6 months of cp, I am now 800 elo.

[@user-bn6xg9zo2n]

Not sure if I can trust your strat. Clearly you just have high aptitude if you shot up from ~1600 to ~1900 within the span of about a month. You'd probably be able to use any dogshit strategy and make some serious improvement

[@Why_I_am_a_theist]

A small question, are you a college student or job professional? And a small advice, please speak slowly cause your avid watchers are all indians bro😁

[@zihadurrahmman4227]

An advice for you, you can watch at 0.75x speed

[@ColinGalen]

College student Fair point - I think the speed itself is fine because there are slowdown options, but it also leads me to trip over my own words and can make it more confusing, so that probably shouldn't happen.

[@qwi3630]

wdym its all fine to me

[@harshvardhanshingade1068]

I am watching on 1.5x LOL

[@Discoverer-of-Teleportation]

and now tell me what your competive programming journey contributed in society 😂😂 at least a icpc medal for your country?

[@stretch8390]

Awful take.

[@allwell8570]

Thanks

[@MeLLiFLuOuSViDeOs]

Thanks