Take two people: Person 1 responds with the first thing that comes to mind. They have not considered alternatives. Person 2 considers a range of alternatives,

Take two people: Person 1 responds with the first thing that comes to mind. They have not considered alternatives. Person 2 considers a range of alternatives, and gives an answer. If person 2 takes longer, they’re not doing the same thing person 1 does, but slower. They’re doing more productive work, spread over a longer time. In various situations, I’d rather hear from person 1 or person 2. > You're saying he actually thinks fast but doesn't get around to thinking for a while? This is another possibility. If I just pause before speaking, I may be paying a fixed latency cost. I take 2 seconds to do what you do in 1 (100% overhead—shocking!), but I take 31 seconds to do what you do in 30 (~3% overhead, who cares?). If he really does think slowly, it means he takes a day to answer your question and gives you the answer someone else would give in 10 minutes. That’s bad.