Now I wonder what my intuitions are about the meaning of the word counterintuitive, and what sort of information about the way the word is used might contradict those intuitions. I tend to think of intuitions as thoughts that pop into our heads as the result of conditioned reflexes, even if that conditioning is part of scientific training. "If we want to know how the brain makes memory and uses memory, we need to make people do things like learn stuff and then remember it. A graphical representation of the unified trust distribution mechanism is shown in Fig. A counterintuitive proposition is one that does not seem likely to be true when assessed using intuition or gut feelings.. Scientifically discovered, objective truths are often called counterintuitive when intuition, emotions, and other cognitive processes outside of deductive rationality interpret them to be wrong. But in social and personality psychology we studyphenomena that regular peoplereflect on and speculate about too. By: Shea September 09, 2020. . I would say water expanding when it freezes. Exercise: Listen to some assertions in the media that claim to be scientific. Our personal epistemology (philosophy of knowledge) is often based on intuition, which can be mistaken. So the intuitive in counterintuitive could refer to the intuitions of experts. For example,when intuition systematically leads people to make consequentially bad decisionsit can be important to document that and understand why. Supercooled liquids have everyday uses improving the taste of frozen foods. For me, its got to be the delayed choice quantum eraser experiment. Brokers love to use this one to their advantage. So we have an extra source of intuitions the intuitions of people who are living the phenomena that we study. Learn more. If intuitions vary widely and so do results, across contexts and populations then we run the riskthat placing too much valueon counterintuitive findings will do more to incentiverhetorical flash than substantive discoveries. Everything you probably think of when you think of the universeplanets, stars, galaxies, black holes, dustmakes up just 4 percent of whatever is out there. Science itself is counterintuitive. If you detect which slit the photons go through, you dont get any interference pattern. Wtf is going on down there!? 2023. The reality is not so simple. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced searchad free! What is the most surprising and counterintuitive finding in science that you can think of? Something that is counter-intuitive does not happen in the way you would expect it to: 2. 'Hiemal,' 'brumation,' & other rare wintry words. What are examples of counterintuitive? (But its true in other sciences too, probably more than we appreciate .) Boyer originally did not precisely specify the number of expectation-violations that would render an idea maximally counterintuitive. Students are familiar with everyday examples of freezing, melting and boiling, but are likely to think temperature always falls during freezing and rises during melting or boiling. In fact, there are a lot of things that people do every day that defy all logic. 11. This points out the need to test the statements of scientists. For the general public that have not had the opportunity to be exposed to the process of science, one of the most counterintuitive things is this: Logic and Common Sense are not the same thing. IE throughout learning undergraduate quantum mechanics you hear "spin is a completely quantum mechanical phenomenon that doesn't exist outside of quantum mechanics." When the Coen Brothers needed someone to show The Dude how to really roll, they could turn to only one man: Hall of Fame professional bowler Barry Asher, Below you, an entire other world operates. Even more disturbing is the fact that carbon dioxide lingers in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. The influenza virus mutates so quickly that last years vaccination is usually ineffective against this years bug. The meaning of COUNTERINTUITIVE is contrary to what one would intuitively expect. The world will end in a whimper. Bobs never bought Christmas seals he told me he wouldnt know what to feed them. Why do you get my tax dollars to be stupid?". That contradicts a lot of your experience, doesn't it? A heavier object does fall faster. Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! As Simine points out, many people in psychology say that counterintuitive findings are more valuable so clearly there is an incentive to frame things that way. Here you can ask any question you have about being a scientist, what's new in a field, what's going to happen in a field, or are curious about how we got to this point. I hate it and will tell you why in 5 minutes. Sure, some tasty things are healthyblueberries, snow peas, nuts and maybe even (oh, please) red wine. You should sit in meditation every day unless you are too busy. The concept of extinction took a while to sink in. A counterintuitive proposition is one that does not seem likely to be true when assessed using intuition, common sense, or gut feelings.. Scientifically discovered, objective truths are often called counterintuitive when intuition, emotions, and other cognitive processes outside of deductive rationality interpret them to be wrong. The basic premise is this. But if, after the experiment, you go back and erase the information about which slit each photon went through, then the interference pattern magically appears on the screen. Cookie Settings, Kids Start Forgetting Early Childhood Around Age 7, Archaeologists Discover Wooden Spikes Described by Julius Caesar, Artificial Sweetener Tied to Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds, 5,000-Year-Old Tavern With Food Still Inside Discovered in Iraq, The Surprisingly Scientific Roots of Monkey Bars. The human genome (the genetic code in each human cell) contains 23 DNA molecules . These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. There is general agreement that it refers to a violation of previously held knowledge, but the precise definition seems to vary with every author and study. What is the most surprising and counterintuitive finding in science that you can think of? Sometimes it clearly is. I guess I never really thought about the first one, but it is really weird. It is now salt water, which has a lower freezing point than fresh water. Adding more salt will cause more melting, and the temperature will drop further. Suppose Im promoting a research idea. Source: Clari Massimiliano / Shutterstock.com. If youre in a happy, optimistic, ambitious mood, check the weather. Part of the problem is the mismatch between scientific terms and their common use. we of course used these results to show how counterintuitive our actual results were. I would not claim thatthis describes all instances of counterintuitive, but I thinkit describes a lot of them. Are you able to include anything visual? However, the subjective nature of intuition limits the . Simine Vazire has a great post contemplating how we should evaluate counterintuitive claims. Our feeble minds can barely scratch the surface of existence, the cosmos, and everything. There have been mass extinctions in the past, and were probably in one now. Somehow, gum made out of tree bark is still softer than Bazooka. What is the meaning of counterintuitive science? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. But big scientific discoveries are by nature counterintuitive and sometimes shocking. A skilled writer can exploit the same mechanisms that lead to hindsight bias to set people up, andthen surprise! Invert the flask, so the thermometer bulb is in the hot water. Are they just keeping silent about conflicts of interest? Most people who haven't studied physics still don't appreciate this. So the "intuitive" in counterintuitive could refer to the intuitions of experts. It took a world famous experiment to bring this into common knowledge. There is enough DNA in the average person's body to stretch from the sun to Pluto and back 17 times. Ground-breaking discovery finally proves rain really can move mountains (University of Bristol). 3. 3. Reference-frame invariance of the speed of light. Advertising Notice Here are 13 counterintuitive business truths I've come to know, even if I can't exactly explain why they make sense. "3 out of 2 Americans do not understand statistics." The mechanics of climate change arent that complex: we burn fossil fuels; a byproduct of that burning is carbon dioxide; it enters the atmosphere and traps heat, warming the surface of the planet. Science can be glorious; it can bring clarity to a chaotic world. There's that Galileo who said heavy things don't fall faster than light things. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Our cognitive failings are legion: we take a few anecdotes and make incorrect generalizations, we misinterpret information to support our preconceptions, and were easily distracted or swayed by irrelevant details. Theyre also likely to suggest a liquids temperature drops while it solidifies. Press J to jump to the feed. Accessed 4 Mar. Some people assume that if you release a ball while spinning your arm in a circle, the ball will continue to go in a circle. Our finding highlights the mathematical inexactness of ZT . Thomas Jefferson saw mastodon bones from Kentucky, for example, and concluded that the giant animals must still be living somewhere in the interior of the continent. (first sentence from the conclusion: the results from these studies show that contrary to the strong intuitions of most, people are not always their own best expert.). The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. He used a telescope to provide evidence for the heliocentric theory, and some of his contemporaries were so disturbed by what the new invention revealedcraters on a supposedly perfectly spherical moon, other moons circling Jupiterthat they refused to look through the device. This is a "necessary evil" that is not considered controversial in the . It's not so unintuitive with topological arguments. This is experimentally shown. It is because that 2-Points and 3-Points have different weights in the two players' stats, so a direct comparison cannot be made. To freeze a liquid you must cool it down, but what happens to the temperature when the liquid solidifies? Logic is generally used to reach a conclusion using the most accurate and testable route. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Frequency: The definition of counterintuitive is something that goes against what you believe would be logical, or something that goes against common sense. Freud might have been wrong in the details, but one of his main ideasthat a lot of our behaviors and beliefs and emotions are driven by factors we are unaware ofturns out to be correct. For me that brings up the question: what do we mean when we say something is counterintuitive?. Sunny days make people happier and more helpful. 3. Even as an adult, I am constantly confronted with new scientific advancements and discoveries that don't always line up with my preconceived notions. So it seems like things should become more closely packed and thus contract. Ever since the late 19th century, physicists have known about a counterintuitive property of some electric circuits called negative resistance. To many people it appears counterintuitive that eating more meals can help trigger weight loss. Seeing your assumptions of physical reactions are wrong by watching a golf ball hit a wall at 1000 frames per second and watching it compress and ripple is powerful. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way. This is your Brain on Psychology This is your Psychology on Brain (a guest post by RobChavez), Data analysis is thinking, data analysis istheorizing. Conclusion. How could something so obvious be wrong? Why dont we ask our colleaguesto back up their claims of being counterintuitive with data? Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Your Privacy Rights Then you are doing classical field theory and are trying to find a first order equation and out pops spinors and the clifford algebra in a completely classical scenario. Fit a 250 ml round-bottom flask with a 2-hole bung carrying a 110oC thermometer, a short glass tube, and a short length of rubber tubing with a sealing clip. Removal of dairy cows may reduce essential nutrient supply with little effect on greenhouse gas emissions (Phys.org). Google is famous for its "20 percent time," the rough percentage of time that employees can dedicate to ancillary endeavors, research interests, or new ideas. Single-use plastic and reusable cotton bags (reused 50 times) were calculated to have over ten times the global warming potential of reusable plastic bags (reused 50 times). to ask them what their predictions would be about our main study in our 2008 paper (Vazire & Mehl, JPSP). It's Time for 20 Percent Talent. The universe might be uncaused. and mturk didnt exist.) Science can be glorious; it can bring clarity to a chaotic world. Testing hypotheses by experiment is supposed to be the hallmark of science. If something is counterintuitive it means it's the opposite of "intuitive" in other words, it's not easily understood in an instinctive, unconscious way. A red light for go and a green light for stop would be highly counterintuitive, for example. Counterintuitive claim: Prices are determined by supply and demand. 27. The counterintuitive has its place. And when you are talking about something that (a)people reflect on and wonder about and (b) is not already well settled, then chances are pretty good that people have had multiple, potentially contradictory ideas about it. Starting Early: The Benefits of Teaching Counterintuitive Concepts in Childhood. That two objects of different mass fall at the same rate. Although if you didn't enjoy science classes at school, it's difficult not to be astonished by scientific facts as an adult. Learn more. Frequency: The definition of counterintuitive is something that goes against what you believe would be logical, or something that goes against common sense. In the age of Hostess pies and sedentary lifestyles, those cravings arent so adaptive. And the water and land use required for beef contributes significantly to global warming, we are told. Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! Send us feedback. Common sense does not always follow . This re-boiling produces more steam, increasing the pressure, and thus raising the boiling point above the current water temperature, so boiling ceases. In social and personality psychology that isthe majority of what we are studying. In the stock market, if you buy and stock for $50 and it goes up to $75 you make 50%. Scientists have come to some surprising conclusions about the world and our place in it. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Since these researchers are moyboys, readers should take that into account. And just generally weird stuff that you know of. CEH has not analyzed the conclusions of Gnter Kampf in this Letter to PNAS. 2. At what point is the marginal product maximum? The fascinating story behind many people's favori Can you handle the (barometric) pressure? Sometime what we think is beneficial to us, actually harm us and what we think is harmful actually become useful. Contrary to most students expectations, the temperature will drop. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. 2 What is another word for counterintuitive? Knowing these can help us make the right choices to get the results we want. Stop heating and immediately close the clip. I realize I'm preaching to the converted in this subreddit, but it's always worth remembering the difference to help understand others' view of science. What is 'counterintuitive'? By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Does putting water in a smoothie count as water intake? The Bible gives a good general principle: Test all things; hold fast what is good (I Thessalonians 5:21). 1. 1. Natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires are often attributed by the media to global warming. First of all, you need to understand what does counterintuitive mean. Bad news that cult recovery group just might be a cult, Theres a little bit of The Dude in a lot of Jeff Bridges performances, The English actor found the good side of being bad. NTU Singapore scientists report that plastic bags could be eco-friendlier than paper and cotton bags in cities like Singapore, Removal of dairy cows may reduce essential nutrient supply with little effect on greenhouse gas emissions, Thinning and prescribed fire treatments reduce tree mortality, Protective effect of mandatory face masks in the publicrelevant variables with likely impact on outcome were not considered, Ground-breaking discovery finally proves rain really can move mountains, The Bible gives a good general principle: Test all things; hold fast what is good (. For example, a delay between the time a discrepancy is observed and a corrective action is taken will result in an oscillation in room temperature (see Figure 6.6). Students can reverse the experiment starting with frozen cyclohexane and warming it in a beaker of hot water, recording temperatures until it returns to about 15oC.

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