PSYC 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Measuring Cup, Tyrion Lannister, Ground Beef
Document Summary
Problem solving: determining how to reach a goal (point b) from your starting point or your givens (point a) Defining the problem: well-defined problems: conditions, means, and goals are completely specified. Ill-defined problems: some aspects are not clearly defined. Algorithms: systematic procedures that will always lead to a solution: applied to solve well-defined problems, mathematics involves primarily algorithmic problem-solving. Heuristics: mental short-cuts that usually lead to a good enough solution, but do not guarantee a correct one: sometimes testing each hypothesis is not feasible, many problems are too ill-defined for algorithms, examples: If instructions are difficult, the task is difficult. If something is hard to understand, it is important. If a medicine or food additive has a difficult name to pronounce, it is unsafe: however, relying on heuristics may lead to biases, or systematic errors. Question: linda problem: linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright.
