Which of the following applies better in your daily life?

[lrkun]

I'm not certain whether to place this under general skepticism/ science/ philosophy, if a moderator thinks it's best placed in a different category, please feel free to do so. You have my blessing.

The following are your choices:

1. Experience;

2. Trial and Error;

3. Logic and Reason;

4. Common sense; and

5. The Scientific Method.

I didn't include faith, because that I not something I wish to discus under this thread.

After you've voted on the poll, please provide your grounds to support your choice. Better yet, provide a situation wherein you applied your chosen method.

 

[lrkun]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

To start, I've chosen trial and error, because in my way of life, I have no time to ascertain the best possible method when it deals heavily with making the choice on the spot. Trial and error is akin to the scientific method, the difference is that I forgo the statistical analysis, the specific method to produce, I usually employ only one hypothesis and I disregard the null hypothesis. For the things that work, I keep using them, for that which didn't I let them go.

To illustrate, in my academic years, when we were about to take the exams, the best way to study is to study from the start of the school year, however, I didn't do so. I usually studied on the day before the examinations. My hypothesis, then, was that there is so many things to remember, I might injure my brain if I studied from the first day of school, besides, I wanted to have fun. So, when I was about to take my first examinations, I crammed certain materials in my mind. I took the exam, I passed. My friends told me to study more the next time, so I did, I took the exams, I failed. In effect, cramming works for me. Is it the best way? For me it is, it might not be for you.

Another case was when I was choosing the best way to slim down. The first thing I did was go to the gym, didn't work for me, because I usually get bored when I do monotonous things. I tried swimming, but since I'm a smoker, I usually give up after the second mile. Then finally, I tried brisk walking, 30 minutes a day, where I walk around my city. Supprisingly, I slimmed down faster than any of my other methods. I stuck to that.

Your turn.

 

[kenandkids]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

For my own life I use trial and error, when the scientific method would be too time consuming or pointless. Trial and error allows one to find what personally works best or is most personally applicable.

I'm often asked for advice by nearly everyone around me. In these situations I ask "Did you try to see what works best?"
Most of the time the answer is no. In these circumstances I use reason and logic. My advice is nearly always accurate and easily taken =-)

 

[borrofburi]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

err... what's the distinction between "trial and error" and "experience" and "common sense"?

 

[lrkun]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

err... what's the distinction between "trial and error" and "experience" and "common sense"?

Trial and error.

Ex. A wants his dog to learn to sit. How does he do it? His friend tells him try clicker training. He tries it and worked. He tried it again, it worked. He tried it a third time, it worked. He'll keep using this technique from now on.

Ex. A wants his dog to learn to sit. He heard that if you feed it, it will do so. He tries it, doesn't work. He's having a hard time using the technique, eventually he gives up and returns to using the clicker training. This time he used the clicker training, it worked.

Experience.

Ex. A wants his dog to learn to sit. He knows by experience that clicker training works, now he uses it on the dog and it worked.

Ex. A wants his dog to bark. His friend tells him that technique B is better than clicker training, but since A knows that clicker training works, he won't change.

Common sense.

Ex. A wants his dog to learn to sit. He'll imagine, well, a dog might sit if he's angry. Now he'll store that idea in his head and never try it. When the day come where he needs to demonstrate the technique, he'll do so. By this time, he'll fail or succeed, but it isn't sure, because he never tried it.

Ex. A is a cook. He cooked food for B. Now he poured oil on the pan, where it burst into flames. Common sense dictates that the best solution is to pour water on it. He does so, however, the flame blazes more. In this case, his common sense failed him.

 

[TheFlyingBastard]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Looks like you're using Common Sense first, then use Trial & Error and end up with Experience.
They're all part of the same process.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Tricky, but in my case it really depends of the situation. I can not just pick one because in some circumstance one option is to much of a complication for a simple problem while the other invariably leads to disaster on other situations.

 

[Divergedwoods]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

"Experience", "trial and error", and "common sense" are way too closely related to make any sort of meaningful distinction. Experience, after all is trials (not all are error), but "trial and error" are an important part of experience, and "common sense" is the instinctive (automatic and not reasoned) application of that which we have learned from experience.
Also, the scientific method is closely related to "logic and reason" since trough logic and reason you get to form the system that we call "scientific". You can't set them apart and leave them independent of one another
And "logic and reason/scientific method" its by itself interdependent with "experience/trial and error/common sense". Logic itself is a form on common sense, and it is derived from our experience in our physical universe were the laws of logic are true
So you can't really divorce the options from one another, they are intrinsically interdependent. And even if you could, you cannot act in your life without a complex combination of all of them (maybe excluding the scientific method from this last affirmation)

 

[lrkun]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

"Experience", "trial and error", and "common sense" are way too closely related to make any sort of meaningful distinction. Experience, after all is trials (not all are error), but "trial and error" are an important part of experience, and "common sense" is the instinctive (automatic and not reasoned) application of that which we have learned from experience.
Also, the scientific method is closely related to "logic and reason" since trough logic and reason you get to form the system that we call "scientific". You can't set them apart and leave them independent of one another
And "logic and reason/scientific method" its by itself interdependent with "experience/trial and error/common sense". Logic itself is a form on common sense, and it is derived from our experience in our physical universe were the laws of logic are true
So you can't really divorce the options from one another, they are intrinsically interdependent. And even if you could, you cannot act in your life without a complex combination of all of them (maybe excluding the scientific method from this last affirmation)

Your voice has been noted. However, I've distinguished the three in accordance with my understanding. Assuming I'm correct, please choose that which you think is best, however, if yo think I'm still wrong, just choose that which you think is more in accord with your own idea or concept of what those three are.

There is no wrong answer, because all of them applies in our reality, however, I prefer one over the other where I chose to differentiate the two in a more concise manner.

 

[lrkun]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Tricky, but in my case it really depends of the situation. I can not just pick one because in some circumstance one option is to much of a complication for a simple problem while the other invariably leads to disaster on other situations.

Valid point, however, between those three, if you were to choose, which of them do you think is the first recourse which you will choose?

 

[Aught3]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Since my daily life is that of a scientist, I chose the scientific method. Though, it probably involves all of them to some extent.

 

[Anachronous Rex]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

I can't see how it could be anything other than experience...

I mean, the very first thing I do when I awaken depends entirely upon my knowing where the alarm clock is and to hit it to shut it up; both via experience. For the rest of the day, everything from the bowl, cereal, milk combo, to driving to market, to calculating how best to get into my fiancé's pants depends almost entirely on previous experience.

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Well in some sense broadning my preception of what is meant by experience, you do requier some experience to best indetify what apropriate method is depending of the situation. In away that convinced me.

 

[lrkun]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Did you ever wonder if someone really uses logic and reason in real life?

 

[Master_Ghost_Knight]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Did you ever wonder if someone really uses logic and reason in real life?

I do.

 

[lrkun]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Did you ever wonder if someone really uses logic and reason in real life?

I do.

Is it applicable most of the time or some of the time? In my case, I only get to apply logic when the situation requires for me to analyze for a cause or synthesize for an effect, and where I deal with more detailed things I eventually forgo logic/reason for the scientific method.

Bearing in mind that this forum is about reason, I think it's a nice topic to discuss.

 

[DepricatedZero]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Since my job is supporting a Windows-based network, logic & reason, common sense, and the scientific method go right out the window.

It's up in the air between experience and trial & error. While I rely on my experience frequently, I would attribute that experience to trial and error, and say that it is through trial and error that I understand what I'm doing. Once I've got that down it's just rote and procedure. Hey, that should be an option too.

changing that to Experience, since I don't actively try and err all the time.

 

[lrkun]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Since my job is supporting a Windows-based network, logic & reason, common sense, and the scientific method go right out the window.

It's up in the air between experience and trial & error. While I rely on my experience frequently, I would attribute that experience to trial and error, and say that it is through trial and error that I understand what I'm doing. Once I've got that down it's just rote and procedure. Hey, that should be an option too.

changing that to Experience, since I don't actively try and err all the time.

Do you mean rote and procedure?

 

[Lallapalalable]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Chose trial and error, mostly because I never liked paying attention in class and learned the most by teaching myself.

"Oh damn, that time it blew a hole in the roof. Guess it wasnt right."

Not the fastest way, but at least you know for sure at the end exactly what does and doesn't work. I cant really come up with a specific situation, as thats just how I function and nothing really stands out. Sorry :cry:

And holy crow, did lrkun create a topic?

 

[lrkun]

Re: Which of the following applies better in your daily life

Chose trial and error, mostly because I never liked paying attention in class and learned the most by teaching myself.

"Oh damn, that time it blew a hole in the roof. Guess it wasnt right."

Not the fastest way, but at least you know for sure at the end exactly what does and doesn't work. I cant really come up with a specific situation, as thats just how I function and nothing really stands out. Sorry :cry:

And holy crow, did lrkun create a topic?

Your main concern:

I cant really come up with a specific situation

Specific situation:

I never liked paying attention in class and learned the most by teaching myself:"Oh damn, that time it blew a hole in the roof. Guess it wasnt right."

Grounds/Foundation/Basis

you know for sure at the end exactly what does and doesn't work.

And holy crow, did lrkun create a topic?

Yes. I tried my best to keep it simple.