A good point from 1949

I have a book here called “Radio and Television Mathematics” by one Bernhard Fischer, written in 1949.  Dr. Fischer was, at the time, the Vice President in Charge of Training, American Television Laboratories of California.  His book was intended as “a handbook to serve as a guide and reference book for the practical man, as a collection of problems for instructors, and as a review for those who want to acquire a rapid practical skill in solving problems in preparation for radio license examinations given by [the US FCC].”  In his preface, he hits on a point that prospective or upgrading amateurs in this day and age of incentive licensing and open question pools might want to keep in mind as they study for their tests:

The intelligent reader knows he will not profit a great deal by merely reading the solutions as presented by the author.  He will try to solve the problems by himself and compare his method with the one presented in the text.  Only after he has endeavored seriously to solve a problem and has encountered difficulties which he feels he cannot overcome should he resort to the given solution as a last expedient.

In other words, don’t just memorize the answers from the question pool.  Actually learn how to solve the problems.