I’d like to add though, that the original phrase was “algorithms that make use of gut feelings… ”. This isn’t the same as saying “a policy of always submitting to your gut feelings”.
I’m picturing a decision tree here: something that tells you how to behave when your gut feeling is “I’m utterly convinced” {Act on the feeling immediately}, vs how you might act if you had feelings of “vague unease” {continue cautiously, delay taking any steps that constitute a major commitment, while you try to identify the source of the unease}. Your algorithm might also involve assessing the reliability of your gut feeling; experience and reason might allow you to know that your gut is very reliable in certain matters, and much less reliable in others.
The details of the algorithm are up for debate of course. For the purposes of this discussion, i place no importance on the details of the algorithm i described. The point is just that these procedures are helpful for rational thinking, they aren’t numerical procedures, and a numerical procedure wouldn’t automatically be better just because it’s numerical.
This is excellent advice.
I’d like to add though, that the original phrase was “algorithms that make use of gut feelings… ”. This isn’t the same as saying “a policy of always submitting to your gut feelings”.
I’m picturing a decision tree here: something that tells you how to behave when your gut feeling is “I’m utterly convinced” {Act on the feeling immediately}, vs how you might act if you had feelings of “vague unease” {continue cautiously, delay taking any steps that constitute a major commitment, while you try to identify the source of the unease}. Your algorithm might also involve assessing the reliability of your gut feeling; experience and reason might allow you to know that your gut is very reliable in certain matters, and much less reliable in others.
The details of the algorithm are up for debate of course. For the purposes of this discussion, i place no importance on the details of the algorithm i described. The point is just that these procedures are helpful for rational thinking, they aren’t numerical procedures, and a numerical procedure wouldn’t automatically be better just because it’s numerical.