My mom has a much lower threshold for confirming things

glennmagusharvey

So it's like this.

My mom was making curry fish balls this evening.  She's made them once before.

Me: "What are those?  Are they curry fish balls?"
Mom: "Of course they are, couldn't you tell by yourself?"

My mom will run with information that's about 60% certain or so.

On the other hand, I will double-check stuff even at 80% certainty or so.  And (to her further irritation), I naturally feign ignorance in order to make sure I get a straight answer.

RedEyedAbyss

There's a distinct dissonance between the rationalist and one who learns through experience there.

glennmagusharvey

huh?

RedEyedAbyss

Well, if she's been cooking for a long time, she would recognize such foods by instinct, right? In the practical world, instinct is often more efficient than intelligence.

glennmagusharvey

No, I'm saying that she expects this of me.  Of course she knows what it is; she was cooking it.

This applies to things other than cooking, too.

For example, if I think there's a 75% chance that my dad's long-winded statement means that event X has happened, my mom will jump to the conclusion that X has happened, while I'll wait until my dad has said enough key words to know with a 90% certainty.

Longfellow

I'm like you. There's a tradeoff with our approach--I'm more likely to question premises and are better prepared for my hunches being wrong. But I hesitate and in so doing miss opportunities.