Disregarding Intuition

Intuition is subconscious pattern matching. When your gut tells you something feels right, it's often smart to listen, even if you can't rationalise your reasoning.

However, there are situations where listening to your gut is a dumb idea.

Here are a few rules I try to follow, although I usually fail:

(1) Don't rely solely on your intuition when a decision's worst case outcome is one you cannot bear. The purpose of most games is to keep playing, even if you lose.

(2) If the nature of a field hasn't changed in decades (relationships, diets, fitness, etc.), follow the advice of people who have vastly more experience than you, even if it clashes with your intuition.

(3) Don't trust your intuition when you have a strong preference for a particular outcome. You will tend to make bad decisions that are influenced by what you want, not what is right.

(4) Evolution only cares about you surviving for long enough to reproduce. When your goals clash with those of evolution, don't trust your intuition. It is likely being tricked by forces beyond your control (aka evolution's best weapons: emotions).