Intuition is pattern recognition

Updated July 21, 2023

Intuition is a type of pattern recognition. So:

  1. Intuition can be trained by example.
  2. Garbage in, garbage out.
  3. Trust good taste.

In solving a problem, the answer must be guessed at before a proof can even begin, and guesses are usually made from a knowledge of facts, experience, and hunches.

The truly creative mathematician must be a good guesser first and a good prover afterward.

(Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning, Vol 1, George Polya)

Taste is not "just a feeling". Taste is the result of your mind weighing hundreds of factors against prior experience and approximating a score.

Taste is powerful because it's fuzzy. Be approximately right.

Design patterns are patterns that have been recognized to work at social scale.

See also: Kill Math, Capture, organize, synthesize, Ma, learn to learn.