Solving a problem without knowing the exact detail of each component. Yes you can. This example is opposite to my previous posts, which advise the normal three steps of overall strategy, zoning in, and get the detail and aggregate back. Simple math 003.

While there is a full blown prove of the answer, the exciting part of this example is about get the job done without it. How many times you are facing a situation that a quick turnaround requiring only result, not how. It is based on the fact of: n = n + 0 or n = n * 1. And thanks we are not asking n²⁰²⁴.

Does this apply to real world problem solving? Absolutely. You will run into many cases where “one of them means all of them”.