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Ask HN: I am going into autopilot mode What do I do?

7 points by phekunde 7y ago

This may sound strange, but I have been going into autopilot mode quite frequently in recent months. What do I mean by "I am going in autopilot mode"? Well, I a software engineer. While thinking about a software solution to a problem, I struggle to come up with a solution and then all of a sudden "I" solve the problem without "me" realising how "I" reached at that solution! This has happend so many times that I thought I would ask here, how do I get out of this "autopilot mode"?

hcta 7y ago
For all we know, this is how everyone actually solves problems all the time, the difference being that when most people are asked how they solved a problem they confabulate something after the fact. If you want to gain this skill, perhaps you could consciously practice coming up with a story for how a solution could have been found after you do it. Maybe look at a book like Polya's How to Solve It and construct a sequence of hints like those in the book ("consider special cases", "solve a simpler problem", etc.) that could conceivably lead a less intuitive person to the answer.
- phekunde 7y ago
  Well, I was previously able to recreate the "path" of how I solved the problem. Recently it has been becoming difficult for me to recreate that path; it is as if like magic that I get solution with me being disconnected from the problem solving process. The feeling is like I become zombie with no awareness when solving a problem and something inside me takes over and does the work. And when the work is done I regain my humanness as if I become conscious again and there is in front of me the solution to the problem, and then I have to start thinking how did I get to this solution?
  - LeonB 7y ago
    It could be “recognition” which is a more meaningful word for what is often called intuition or experience. You draw on the many patterns embedded in your mind from your growing experience to “recognise” the solution, and thus can’t completely explain how you recognised the solution. Analogous to the way that you recognise the face of a friend without being able to explain any set of logical steps you followed to perform that recognition. You brain matched input to a pattern.
    - LeonB 7y ago
      (Could also be dissociation, or temporal lobe epilepsy or other problems.)
JSeymourATL 7y ago
> how do I get out of this "autopilot mode"? Take daily walks like Einstein > http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170612-what-you-can-learn-from-einsteins-quirky-habits http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170612-what-you-can-learn-...
- phekunde 7y ago
  I already walk for 1 hr everyday.
AnimalMuppet 7y ago
I'm not sure you should want to. You have expanded your range of what you can solve by intuition (or just by "seeing" the answer). Rather than being a problem, this is part of your professional growth.
- phekunde 7y ago
  > I'm not sure you should want to. Then how would I be able to quickly solve the same problem the next time if I am not in control of the process?
  - AnimalMuppet 7y ago
    Think about learning to drive a car. You come to an intersection, and you check very carefully to make sure that there aren't any other cars moving in a way that you have to avoid. Then you proceed. After a while, you don't drive that way. While you should still maintain caution, you just see the other cars. You are now a better driver, not a worse one. In the same way, you grow as an engineer partly as you grow the number of situations that you can just "pattern match" on. It doesn't mean that your logic is somehow failing you! Instead, it means that when you see that situation, you "just know" how to solve it (typically, by seeing similar situations a few times). The logic still works for the situations you don't know how to "just see" the solution to. If you're solving all your problems on autopilot, it means you're ready to step up to harder problems. And, a caveat. "Autopilot" can produce wrong results from time to time. It's worth taking a bit of time to think through whether the solution is actually right (the more important the problem, the more time is appropriate).
otras 7y ago
This sounds similar to the natural way your brain works and transitions between "diffuse" and "focus" modes (to use the jargon from Learning How To Learn). Highly recommend the course! https://www.coursera.org/lecture/learning-how-to-learn/introduction-to-the-focused-and-diffuse-modes-75EsZ https://www.coursera.org/lecture/learning-how-to-learn/intro...
m33k44 7y ago
Well, even Ramanujan claimed that the Goddess of Namagiri use to give him mathematical solutions. You are in a good company!