I was looking at this recursive solution to a combinations problem, and this solution to a permutations problem. And I look at them, and even if I can convince myself that they work, I feel like I'd never be able to get remotely close to these solutions. Even Towers of Hanoi seemed unsolvable to me until I looked at the solution, which still feels uncomfortably like magic. Simple generative recursion to calculate factorials, Fibonacci sequence, even fractal graphics is intuitive enough to me, but feel like I simply don't have the cleverness to even come up with a working approach for these kinds of problems, let alone translate it into actual code. I mean, these are exercises for first year CS students (albeit at a prestigious college), surely they wouldn't simply be impossible for anyone of that level who's not a genius? I'm wondering if it's a waste of time beating my head against the wall waiting for an epiphany to happen.