Insight Solutions Are Correct More Often Than Analytic Solutions

haidut

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The role of dopamine and serotonin in, respectively, creative and analytical thought processes is well established. So, the title of the study can probably be changed to "Dopaminergic dominance yields more correct solutions compared to serotonin dominance". While too much analysis is definitely a sign of suboptimal metabolism (and often of mood disorders like depression) the performance of the analytical thought was not that far behind than the insightful one. I think analytical thought is simply what remains when metabolism is not sufficient to support creative, inductive thinking - i.e. the analytical thinking is possibly a baseline / survival mode of thought in suboptimal environmental conditions.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13546783.2016.1141798?journalCode=ptar20
"...Of all responses labelled as insight, an average of 97.6% were correct (mean N of responses, M = 72.4; SD = 30.2); of all responses labelled as analytic, an average of 91.9% were correct (mean N of responses, M - 51.9; SD = 30.1). Significantly more insight responses were correct compared to analytic responses (t(50) = 2.78; d = 1.50; 95% CI [.01; .09]; p< .01); significantly more errors of commission were labelled as analytic than insight (t(50) = -2.79; d = .60; 95% CI [-.1; -.06]; p < .01)."
 

Fractality

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Let me attempt to rephrase for my own understanding. "Paralysis by analysis" is serotonin dominance. Dopaminergic dominance yields a greater clarity of thought; a laser focus and energized brain metabolism which tends to yield more correct solutions to the problems we face day to day (personal/business).
 
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haidut

haidut

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Let me attempt to rephrase for my own understanding. "Paralysis by analysis" is serotonin dominance. Dopaminergic dominance yields a greater clarity of thought; a laser focus and energized brain metabolism which tends to yield more correct solutions to the problems we face day to day (personal/business).

That would be my understanding, yes. Also, it is not so much the paralysis of analysis but that the conclusions reached due to excessive analysis were incorrect more often. I think paralysis by analysis refers more to the idea of being unable ot make a decision due to too many competing possibilities that need to be analyzed.
 

dfspcc20

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I believe it was Henri Poincaré who argued that intuition (aka insight) is the life of mathematics.
Robert Pirsig expanded on this (in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance), arguing that good science (namely being able to come up with a coherent hypothesis) is, at least partly, a creative/insightful process.
I guess this study maybe confirms these ideas.
 
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haidut

haidut

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I believe it was Henri Poincaré who argued that intuition (aka insight) is the life of mathematics.
Robert Pirsig expanded on this (in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance), arguing that good science (namely being able to come up with a coherent hypothesis) is, at least partly, a creative/insightful process.
I guess this study maybe confirms these ideas.

Poincare also said "Mathematics done right is indistinguishable from art", which is more of less the same thing. Up until the early 20th century mathematics was not considered part of the sciences but more of an art discipline. The rise of the so-called "applied mathematics" and its emphasis in engineering schools is what led to the current emphasis on deductive, logical thought in this field.
 

goodandevil

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Poincare also said "Mathematics done right is indistinguishable from art", which is more of less the same thing. Up until the early 20th century mathematics was not considered part of the sciences but more of an art discipline. The rise of the so-called "applied mathematics" and its emphasis in engineering schools is what led to the current emphasis on deductive, logical thought in this field.
Nikola-Tesla-Quotes-with-Photos.jpg
 

Drareg

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Well doesn't quantum physics say just that? That's if you want to use the term quantum.
The reality of these discoveries still largely being ignored,shut up and calculate cliches,quantum lols.
 

Fractality

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That would be my understanding, yes. Also, it is not so much the paralysis of analysis but that the conclusions reached due to excessive analysis were incorrect more often. I think paralysis by analysis refers more to the idea of being unable ot make a decision due to too many competing possibilities that need to be analyzed.

I've been in a serotonergic dominated state and I would find myself unable to commit to a decision due to trying to anticipate/predict what the outcome would be. When I'm in a dopaminergic state, I spend less time trying to account for all variables/outcomes and instead make a decision with the confidence I can adjust accordingly based on the outcome.
 

Regina

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That would be my understanding, yes. Also, it is not so much the paralysis of analysis but that the conclusions reached due to excessive analysis were incorrect more often. I think paralysis by analysis refers more to the idea of being unable ot make a decision due to too many competing possibilities that need to be analyzed.
gripped by indecision. You can't disambiguate because you cannot swallow the situation whole in an instant.
 

Regina

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That would be my understanding, yes. Also, it is not so much the paralysis of analysis but that the conclusions reached due to excessive analysis were incorrect more often. I think paralysis by analysis refers more to the idea of being unable ot make a decision due to too many competing possibilities that need to be analyzed.
I think of Hamlet (in literary history). He is the ultimate guy gripped by indecision. To be or not to be.... And, in his nattering in his conscious mind, he let's Denmark fall.
It is interesting that Shakespeare was exploring this theme contemporaneous to Takuan.
Sword of Zen: Master Takuan and His Writings on Immovable Wisdom and the Sword Tale
Takuan says you will fail (be cut down) if you natter in your conscious mind. The free-flowing mind knows the correct answer.

At another time in Hamlet, he says (paraphrase) 'there is no right or wrong; there is only what you think.' Also that the world's too small whether inside a walnut or the whole universe. (for those who hunger insatiably). It is a narcissism. There is no reality that they can see right there. So, they scheme to be safe from the fear of being disconnected to the reality that exists in each given moment. Hamlet was serotonin dominant?
 

lvysaur

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This is why I've never read philosophy
 

chispas

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I think of Hamlet (in literary history). He is the ultimate guy gripped by indecision. To be or not to be.... And, in his nattering in his conscious mind, he let's Denmark fall.
It is interesting that Shakespeare was exploring this theme contemporaneous to Takuan.
Sword of Zen: Master Takuan and His Writings on Immovable Wisdom and the Sword Tale
Takuan says you will fail (be cut down) if you natter in your conscious mind. The free-flowing mind knows the correct answer.

At another time in Hamlet, he says (paraphrase) 'there is no right or wrong; there is only what you think.' Also that the world's too small whether inside a walnut or the whole universe. (for those who hunger insatiably). It is a narcissism. There is no reality that they can see right there. So, they scheme to be safe from the fear of being disconnected to the reality that exists in each given moment. Hamlet was serotonin dominant?

Glad to see someone quoting Takuan. Love it!

"The unattainable self, itself, is the true self" - Dogen.
 

chispas

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The role of dopamine and serotonin in, respectively, creative and analytical thought processes is well established. So, the title of the study can probably be changed to "Dopaminergic dominance yields more correct solutions compared to serotonin dominance". While too much analysis is definitely a sign of suboptimal metabolism (and often of mood disorders like depression) the performance of the analytical thought was not that far behind than the insightful one. I think analytical thought is simply what remains when metabolism is not sufficient to support creative, inductive thinking - i.e. the analytical thinking is possibly a baseline / survival mode of thought in suboptimal environmental conditions.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13546783.2016.1141798?journalCode=ptar20
"...Of all responses labelled as insight, an average of 97.6% were correct (mean N of responses, M = 72.4; SD = 30.2); of all responses labelled as analytic, an average of 91.9% were correct (mean N of responses, M - 51.9; SD = 30.1). Significantly more insight responses were correct compared to analytic responses (t(50) = 2.78; d = 1.50; 95% CI [.01; .09]; p< .01); significantly more errors of commission were labelled as analytic than insight (t(50) = -2.79; d = .60; 95% CI [-.1; -.06]; p < .01)."

I think there's also something to be said for one's "gut feel". The current chess champion, Magnus Carlsen often remarks that he intuitively senses the right combination of moves.

I think with people's guts being so disrupted by the environment, it's no wonder they have poor thinking ability.

As my health has improved, I tend to rush my thought process less, think slower but with finer detail, see broader relationships across disparate factors, and actually have good ideas once in a while! In fact, I'm very confident there is a relationship between consuming 2g of B3 and having solidly good, innovative ideas!
 

DaveFoster

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This is why I've never read philosophy
This is a great point; great poets, philosophers, and writers suffered from social isolation, depression, and serotonin dominance. Therefore, using someone like Nietzsche (or even Blake) as a template for your life will inevitably lead to unhappiness, as the authors underwent the same fate.
 

nikolabeacon

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This is a great point; great poets, philosophers, and writers suffered from social isolation, depression, and serotonin dominance. Therefore, using someone like Nietzsche (or even Blake) as a template for your life will inevitably lead to unhappiness, as the authors underwent the same fate.

Great truth which is not paid too much attention. And If we would pay more attention to it we could save ourselves from lot of evil. We have the power to free ourselvels from "monsters" in our lives.
 

Drareg

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This is a great point; great poets, philosophers, and writers suffered from social isolation, depression, and serotonin dominance. Therefore, using someone like Nietzsche (or even Blake) as a template for your life will inevitably lead to unhappiness, as the authors underwent the same fate.

Blake seemed like a happy fellow for a large part of his life,many of them had ups and downs but I wouldn't say the great philosophers were unhappy,the permanently unhappy types philosophy is terrible and possibly plagiarised IMO.

Blake couldn't be serotonin dominant,none of the better philosophy could be Imo.
 

dand

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So good! Definitely notice that I cogitate more when metabolism is stressed.
 

lvysaur

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This is a great point; great poets, philosophers, and writers suffered from social isolation, depression, and serotonin dominance.

It's more because most of it is simply mental masturbation, and I have a tendency toward that sort of thought, so I actively suppress it, and am not particularly impressed by it in others.

There's a sort of unspoken impression among many people that because someone was a known philosopher, that their philosophy hold validity. It's dumb.
 
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Haidut, do you believe that too much analysis could also cause serotonin dominance? My health problems began during my Masters degree - hair loss, mood disorder, isolation, disconnection - and ever since that time my default thought pattern is to analyse a situation to the point of such high abstraction that I'm not connected to the real world any more. I've gone through periods of believing that this was productive and fruitful - I've had many eureka moments along the way - but as I look back I realise that I've cogitated much and acted little.

I recently finished Matthew Crawford's The World Beyond Your Head, and I'd recommend it to anyone who has trouble overthinking. My best days are when I'm engaged in a practical social activity that requires me to analyse very little. I'm wondering whether these days are just low serotonin days, or these days result in little serotonin.
 
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