
When knowledge makes us hesitate - fogus
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2221-when-knowledge-makes-us-hesitate
======
mrcharles
I think this post can be summed up as "With experience comes the ability to
make intelligent educated guesses with limited information".

Seems to me that once you reach a certain level of mastery, any chance event
that happens can be seen in the light of previous similar chance events, and
so that person with the most experience is able to say "this is likely how
things will go from here" and move forward.

At least, that's been my experience. When I was green, and something changed,
I had no idea what to do. Now, when there's something that changes, it barely
slows me down. I've seen it all, I've heard it all, and at the end of the day,
everything has a solution.

At least in software.

~~~
run4yourlives
The key is that there are some individuals that can be masters at their craft
and still doubt themselves, and some that know nothing and are able to create
new realities.

Subject matter knowledge is only a part of the equation. The ability to "think
on you feet" - and to do so _correctly_ for often than not - is one of the
most undervalued yet important skills of modern life. It affects everyone from
Generals to Data Entry clerks, and will probably mean the difference between a
meteoric rise up the success ladder and questioning why that other guy got
promoted over you.

------
philwelch
Patton: "A good plan violently executed now is far better than a perfect plan
executed next week."

------
vital101
Making decisions blindly is far worse than hesitation. I agree that you can't
let new information keep you from making a decision forever, but it's valuable
to take a bit of time to fully consider the repercussions this information may
have on you.

~~~
vinhboy
I would agree with you when it comes to life and death situations, like in a
war or something.

But in an office building, I don't see this being a problem. Having long
meetings to discuss the virtue of different options is more often a waste of
time and productivity.

~~~
aero142
That isn't the only option though. I would prefer that the person closest to
the problem make the decision, which isn't usually the person most willing to
make a decision.

------
knuckle_cake
This phenomenon hit me hard when I was learning to play Poker back in the day.

------
fleitz
One of the really interesting things that the US military took from this is to
make decisions within the opposing force's ODA (Observe-Decide-Act) loop. The
theory goes that if you make your decisions within their ODA loop that your
actions appear to be random and start to cause analysis paralysis in the enemy
force's command structure gaining further advantage for your force.

------
mootothemax
This reminds me of the line from The Cable Guy: _He who hesitates,
masturbates_ ;)

In non-critical situations, I think it holds true, be it for chatting up
girls, starting a new code project, or when you're facing a pile of dirty
dishes in your flat.

