> I think it is more productive to ask yourself what questions you want to answer
I second that. An old remark is, "We often find
that a good question is more important than a good
answer.", as I recall, due to Richard Bellman, say,
the leading proponent of dynamic programming,
i.e., usually a case of optimal control, either
for the deterministic or stochastic (the system
gets random exogenous inputs while we are trying
to control it). Bellman was into a lot in pure
and applied mathematics, engineering, medicine, etc.
Bright guy. As I recall, his Ph.D. was in
stability of solutions of initial value problems
for ordinary differential equations, from Princeton.
I second that. An old remark is, "We often find that a good question is more important than a good answer.", as I recall, due to Richard Bellman, say, the leading proponent of dynamic programming, i.e., usually a case of optimal control, either for the deterministic or stochastic (the system gets random exogenous inputs while we are trying to control it). Bellman was into a lot in pure and applied mathematics, engineering, medicine, etc. Bright guy. As I recall, his Ph.D. was in stability of solutions of initial value problems for ordinary differential equations, from Princeton.