  I am a second-year cognitive science major, and as a student who has
completed my physical science distributive requirements, I will likely never
again come across Gauss's law. So why do I feel that the time and effort I
devoted to solving Gauss's law problems was worth it? Partly, I inherently
enjoy the learning process and the new perspective on the physical world I have
acquired by understanding electromagnetism. But I was also inspired by the ways
in which physics problems train the mind in effective problem-solving
strategies. (Of course I was -- I am a cognitive science major!) Two themes
emerged as I reflected on this realization. First, physics problems serve as
useful toy models for more complex problems outside of physics, training us in
broadly transferable problem-solving skills. Second, the physics
problem-solving process invites us to reflect on our unique cognitive and
affective processes. These themes are interconnected and complimentary. An
improved metacognitive understanding of our minds facilitates solving
progressively more complex problems, and the act of solving increasingly
difficult problems provides further insight into our minds. In what follows,
Professor Zosia Krusberg and I consider nine general lessons offered by the
physics problem-solving process.
