I've done pair programming, and I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't want to make it my normal way of working.<p>As a math major, I was far more successful when I went to study groups, spent hours trying to prove theorems with other students, or the TA or professor, and so forth. In a way, you could say that's a kind of "pair math", at least the part where you try to work on a proof with another person.<p>I'd say stay very social and engaged with other people, and don't go dark, but I think tough coding problems require a lot of quiet focus in a place with minimal distractions as well. Like, I'd encourage programmers to find work from a local university library (for some reason, this works better for me even than a private, quiet office).