Preconceptions
If you have certain ways of approaching things, you tend to view the problem at hand as being related to your tried-and-true solution. Here is a great example of how we can get stuck in our preconceptions. Can you tell what the relationship is between the numbers above?
You might look at these numbers for a very long time before you arrive at the answer (or at least, this answer): they are in alphabetical order. While people usually attempt to divine some mathematical relationship between the numbers, once you make a lateral move to another logic system, the “non-intuitive” suddenly becomes obvious.
This brings us to the subject of heuristics. Heuristics are simple rules for making decisions and solving problems – “shortcuts in thinking”, essentially. Heuristics are generally good: we utilize them, and they have their place. They can be inherent or learned, and they work well under most circumstances. But they can unfortunately result in systemic cognitive biases (which is a fancy way of saying “preconceptions”).
Some common heuristic errors…
- The anchoring error: drawing premature conclusions based on the first piece of information, and holding to those even when contradicted by subsequent findings
- The availability error: mistakenly applying mental models and conclusions from apparently similar previous situations, based upon findings in the new situation
- The attribution error: using the information to make gross generalizations confirming what you already “know”
I often see these in action with my consulting clients. Some will say, “We know what our problem is. It’s this,” and they’ll haul out data to back up their conclusions (which they may seem to be more interested in validating than challenging). While this might be comforting on some level, it is ultimately a disservice to the goals that they are trying to achieve.
So, it’s really important to be clear-minded on the following: what you want, where you are, the resources you need, and the need to adapt… to keep changing, moving and growing.
Tags: animation production, animation production efficiency, animation workflow, CG Production Principles, production efficiency