George Pólya (b. 13 Dec 1887, d. 7 Sep 1985)
was a
mathematician who contributed to a wide range of
fields during his long lifetime, including
real
and
complex analysis,
probability,
combinatorics,
number theory, and
geometry. However, Pólya is
best known for his
writing and
teaching about the
heuristics of
problem solving. In his books
How to Solve It and
Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning
he outlines very practical steps one can take to solve a
hard problem. His most widely quoted piece of advice is
"If you cannot solve a problem, then there is an easier
problem you cannot solve: find it."
Pólya was born in Budapest, Hungary and educated
at the University of Budapest. He began studying philosophy,
taking mathematics and physics classes on the advice of his
supervisor. In an interview1 he said that he switched because,
"I thought I am not good enough for physics and too good for philosophy.
Mathematics is in between." He graduated with a Ph.D. in mathematics
and a minor in physics in 1912. He taught and did research
at the University of Göttingen, Univerisity of Paris, and
the Swiss Federation of Technology in Zurich. In 1940 he moved
to the United States, settling down at Stanford University after two years
at Brown University.
1 Mathematical People, D.J. Albers and G.L. Alexanderson, eds.,
Birkhauser Boston, Cambridge, MA, USA, 1985.