Vincent Gable’s Blog

February 5, 2009

Point Of View is 80 IQ Points

Filed under: Design,Quotes | ,
― Vincent Gable on February 5, 2009

Point of view is worth 80 IQ points … it’s not logic that is powerful. Logic is actually a weak method because it depends on fragile chains of inference. And people have used logic throughout history but mostly in inappropriate context.

There’s nothing illogical about the way the alchemists did things, it was that they were in a context where there logic couldn’t do much. so it’s this notion that the context is powerful, and if you want to be able to be good at solving problems and acting much smarter then you are then you have to find the context that will do the thinking for you.

Most computer scientists know this because it goes under another heading “choose the appropriate data structure before you start tinkering around with the algorithm”. If you choose the right data structure it will have most of the result computed almost automatically as part of its inherent structure.

–Alan Kay, Doing With Images Makes Symbols.

There are many related anecdotes about solving the right problem.

2 Comments »

  1. Related, Feynman explaining why he can’t answer “why” magnets work, unless he’s in a physics context.

    I really can’t do a good job, any job, of explaining magnetic force in terms of something else you’re more familiar with, because I don’t understand it in terms of anything else you’re more familiar with.

    Comment by Vincent Gable — February 3, 2010 @ 11:12 pm

  2. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about other. Regards

    Comment by Stephnie — May 16, 2015 @ 1:11 am

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