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Sometimes I get problem ideas from real life. Is it OK to ask for a solution here, even though I would (probably) be able to solve it myself?

As a disclaimer, those problems are weird enough to convince anyone that they are not school or uni work or something.

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    $\begingroup$ What would be an example of such a problem? More generally, Stack Exchange is about the content, not users or their motives. $\endgroup$
    – Peter Mortensen
    Feb 10, 2022 at 10:38
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    $\begingroup$ I don't think you can make anybody solve your problems. $\endgroup$
    – Jon Custer
    Feb 10, 2022 at 16:40
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    $\begingroup$ yeah, "make", not a native speaker, more like..."incline"? Or "ask"? $\endgroup$
    – George Menoutis
    Feb 10, 2022 at 20:07

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As a disclaimer, those problems are weird enough to convince anyone that they are not school or uni work or something.

This is a huge misconception about site policies. We don't care if a question comes from school, assigned homework, or from your own thoughts.

The policy in regards to exercises is that you don't just post the exercise and ask for a solution. Ideally, your question wouldn't reference an exercise at all and would be purely about the concepts you would need to understand in order to solve the problem on your own. Of course, this isn't always possible, and so the next best thing is to use the exercise only to frame the context of your question. The goal should always be understanding the concepts, not looking for a worked solution or calculation.

So to answer the question

Is it OK to ask for a solution here...

without further information, I'm going to say no.

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Is it OK to ask for a solution here, even though I would (probably) be able to solve it myself ?

In general we explain concepts, not do specific problems for people. The "homework" policy states that people answers should not provide worked out answers in general. That's precisely what you are asking for, so IMO you're off-topic.

You are also required to provide your own attempt at finding the solution and you are attempting to just not bother making an attempt.

That's completely against the letter and spirit of the policy IMO..

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  • $\begingroup$ "You are also required to provide your own attempt at finding the solution and you are attempting to just not bother making an attempt." I can't see where this is stated. If we are all about concepts, why is the OP's attempt required? If they only ask about the concept without showing any work, is that grounds for closure? $\endgroup$
    – BioPhysicist
    Feb 11, 2022 at 4:48
  • $\begingroup$ @BioPhysicist I get the impression you're talking about the rule in a general way and I'm being specific to this poster's question. He clearly does indicate (IMO) he doesn't want to bother doing the work himself and wants someone else to. I've no idea how you can read his question in a different way. $\endgroup$
    – StephenG - Help Ukraine
    Feb 11, 2022 at 4:51
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    $\begingroup$ Oh yeah, in this case I agree. And certainly showing work can help give context in many cases. $\endgroup$
    – BioPhysicist
    Feb 11, 2022 at 4:52

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