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All these articles proposing "intuition" as secret magic dust is quite funny. This is culturally amplified by movies and media ("May the force be with you", "fo

All these articles proposing "intuition" as secret magic dust is quite funny. This is culturally amplified by movies and media ("May the force be with you", "follow your feelings"). In reality, intuition is simply a pattern recognition mechanism that sometimes work. Entire science is basically testimony of how our intuition lead us astray and why we need to be disciplined about looking at data, evidence and crafting experiments. Our intuition has always said Earth is flat, Sun rotates around us, time is constant... Virtually every single thing in science is how our intuition (aka the primitive pattern recognition) was so magnificently wrong.

auggierose 2y ago
I think you have to distinguish here between your intuition, and the currently reigning common sense, which you just take for granted and which is not based on your own intuition.
WgaqPdNr7PGLGVW 2y ago
> Entire science is basically testimony of how our intuition lead us astray and why we need to be disciplined about looking at data, evidence and crafting experiments. This is not really the case. If you look into how a lot of great science is done it often starts with intuition followed by testing / experimenting in order to validate.
- awesome_dude 2y ago
  More often than not, that spark of intuition is tested by experiment, and turns out to be wrong. 99 attempts at creating a lightbulb... and counting.
  - WgaqPdNr7PGLGVW 2y ago
    I suspect the scientists intuition is less reliable because the scientists are acting at the limits of our understanding. Even then it is still a critical component. For those of us writing glue code to connect services for the 100th time or a manager dealing with our 20th PIP is our intuition likely to be as faulty?
    - awesome_dude 2y ago
      > If you look into how a lot of great science is done it often starts with intuition followed by testing / experimenting in order to validate. Has turned into > scientists intuition is less reliable because the scientists are acting at the limits of our understanding Is that your gut telling you that?
      - lazide 2y ago
        Another way to put what I think they were trying to say - If you have a lack of knowledge, the ‘rational’ set of things to try can be so large that it’s overwhelming/impossible to actually try them. You have to pick something. Intuition can help there (and is commonly found in almost all major discoveries), even if it isn’t necessarily right. Since it’s still more right than not listening to it. But then you need to pay attention and do some rational analysis to verify, and then iterate.
        awesome_dude 2y ago
        I have a lack of knowledge about the winning lottery numbers. My intuition has never been any help on picking them. Not listening to it, and just not buying the tickets would be more profitable. Honestly, you're trying to claim that intuition is the foundation, when it's almost as bad as blind luck. The most exciting phrase ever uttered in science is "Huh, that's not right" or "Woops"
        WgaqPdNr7PGLGVW 2y ago
        > Honestly, you're trying to claim that intuition is the foundation, when it's almost as bad as blind luck. Why do you think this?
        awesome_dude 2y ago
        You got me, I'm a closet genius that always knows without a shadow of a doubt what people are thinking.

auggierose 2y ago

I think you have to distinguish here between your intuition, and the currently reigning common sense, which you just take for granted and which is not based on your own intuition.

WgaqPdNr7PGLGVW 2y ago

> Entire science is basically testimony of how our intuition lead us astray and why we need to be disciplined about looking at data, evidence and crafting experiments. This is not really the case. If you look into how a lot of great science is done it often starts with intuition followed by testing / experimenting in order to validate.

awesome_dude 2y ago
More often than not, that spark of intuition is tested by experiment, and turns out to be wrong. 99 attempts at creating a lightbulb... and counting.
- WgaqPdNr7PGLGVW 2y ago
  I suspect the scientists intuition is less reliable because the scientists are acting at the limits of our understanding. Even then it is still a critical component. For those of us writing glue code to connect services for the 100th time or a manager dealing with our 20th PIP is our intuition likely to be as faulty?
  - awesome_dude 2y ago
    > If you look into how a lot of great science is done it often starts with intuition followed by testing / experimenting in order to validate. Has turned into > scientists intuition is less reliable because the scientists are acting at the limits of our understanding Is that your gut telling you that?
    - lazide 2y ago
      Another way to put what I think they were trying to say - If you have a lack of knowledge, the ‘rational’ set of things to try can be so large that it’s overwhelming/impossible to actually try them. You have to pick something. Intuition can help there (and is commonly found in almost all major discoveries), even if it isn’t necessarily right. Since it’s still more right than not listening to it. But then you need to pay attention and do some rational analysis to verify, and then iterate.
      - awesome_dude 2y ago
        I have a lack of knowledge about the winning lottery numbers. My intuition has never been any help on picking them. Not listening to it, and just not buying the tickets would be more profitable. Honestly, you're trying to claim that intuition is the foundation, when it's almost as bad as blind luck. The most exciting phrase ever uttered in science is "Huh, that's not right" or "Woops"
        WgaqPdNr7PGLGVW 2y ago
        > Honestly, you're trying to claim that intuition is the foundation, when it's almost as bad as blind luck. Why do you think this?
        awesome_dude 2y ago
        You got me, I'm a closet genius that always knows without a shadow of a doubt what people are thinking.