The Experiment That Discovered It
In the 1940s, psychologists Luchins conducted experiments with water jugs. After solving several puzzles with the same formula, they introduced one with a simpler solution. Most participants did not see it. They kept applying the complex formula that had worked before. The brain, once it finds a working solution, tends to apply it automatically, even when a better alternative exists and even when the problem has changed.
Why It Affects Experts More
The more experience you have, the deeper the mental grooves carved. Your brain learns to recognize patterns and respond automatically. That is efficiency. But it is also rigidity. In genuinely new situations, automatic pattern recognition can lead you to ignore solutions that someone less experienced would see clearly.
How to Break the Automatism
Before applying the known solution, ask yourself: what would I do if I could not use my usual approach? Sometimes this confirms your approach is correct. Other times it reveals an alternative waiting to be seen.
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