Simon's Favorite Factoring Trick
Statement of the factorization
Simon's Favorite Factoring Trick (abbreviated SFFT) is a special factorization. SFFT is: .
Credit
This factorization was first popularized by AoPS user ComplexZeta, whose name is Simon.
Applications
This factorization frequently shows up on contest problems, especially those heavy on algebraic manipulation. Usually and are variables and are known constants. Also it is typically necessary to add the term to both sides to perform the factorization.