My method when I'm stumped is to use guesses (and magick) to get a foothold, then prove it twice.
@PrincessOfCats that's one of the things worth mentioning about hacking actually. Patience and dogged "I will beat this" is the best mental model for a hacker. Sometimes you need to put something aside for a while but then you come back with fresh eyes and ideas and try again and again.

@thegrugq @PrincessOfCats

The most intelligent man in the world can complete a task in one hour.

A persistent man can do it in one month. End results are the same.

Perseverance is another form of intelligence.

@xy @PrincessOfCats @thegrugq Agree on this somewhat. IQ is first derivative of skill with respect to effort. Lower IQ can be compensated by more effort to a degree.

@HalvarFlake @thegrugq @PrincessOfCats @xy

As FX always says: "Stubbornness compensates for a lot of talent."