Wow... I've apparently been masturbating incorrectly for years...

In what contexts are tons used to represent force? As far as I am aware, tons are traditionally used for mass. While tons have also been used as a unit of volume (e.g., for ships) and a unit of energy (e.g., for explosives), I am not aware of tons ever being used to represent force?

Always learning by the examples provided by others can hurt if you're ever in a position where you need to be innovative and break new ground.

Struggling with ideas for yourself until they make sense builds useful connections in your brain that get used over and over again. I have noticed a world of difference in the research efforts of graduate students who have trained themselves to work and think independently versus graduate students who always rely on office hours/study groups to find answers. The independent thinkers also tend to produce better and faster results in collaborative efforts.