When I tried the first LinkedList lab, I found it quite difficult. I had no idea how to even design the new query. My trouble wasn't helped by the fire alarm nor the fact I (nor my partner) saw the hints. I sat there, with my lab partner, for the whole lab, typing random nonsense to no avail.
Surprisingly, when I tried the LinkedList lab next week, I knew exactly what to do--kinda. I'm still not entirely sure if we implemented it the way Dan wanted (we didn't keep an index of the older/newest items), but we implemented it nonetheless.
I'm not sure why it was so much easier the second time (it's not like I was thinking about it outside the lab), but it was. It's great to see what a nice long break and fresh start can do.
