My issue with both this and u-substitution is that you don't know what expression to use. There are a LOT of expressions that plausibly simplify the integral. But you have to do a bunch of algebra for each one (and not screw it up!), without really knowing whether it actually helps.

OTOH, if I'm given the expression, it's just mechanical and unrewarding.

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zeroonetwothree an hour ago | parent [-]

That’s how most of math works past high school. It requires a lot of practice and intuition.

	▲	lordnacho an hour ago \| parent [-]
		I don't know about this particular case though, I get the feeling there's a system to it that can be exploited by eg Wolfram. It's just that you're in the dark for a long time before you find the switch.