experience

[sergebroom]

Instinct really is experience internalized to the point where I don't think about the process's individual steps, and where I unconsciously know which of those steps will be a mistake, but that means it can be difficult to explain my conclusion to someone who's smarter but less experienced. In the end I wound up doing the thing the way the other person told me to. One week later, I did not gloat when that person realized my approach would indeed have been the best approach. I threw away the work and started again, but MY way.