I also identify more with the elephant, which I (probably unhelpfully) think of as the one that ‘actually does maths and physics’, in the sense of gaining insights into problems and building intuitive understanding.
I (also probably unhelpfully) think of the rider as a more of a sort of dull bean counter who verifies the steps in my reasoning are correct afterwards, and ruins my fun for some of my wilder flights of fancy.
I’m slowly learning to like the rider more—it’s doing more than I give it credit for.
Probably some of the issue is trying to fit everything into these two categories. I think Sarah Constantin has convinced me that there are at least three things in the world—flow states, formal step-by-step reasoning and insight. I’ve been unthinkingly lumping flow state in with insight as the good stuff, and leaving the rider with just formal verification. Someone else might lump insight differently.
I also identify more with the elephant, which I (probably unhelpfully) think of as the one that ‘actually does maths and physics’, in the sense of gaining insights into problems and building intuitive understanding.
I (also probably unhelpfully) think of the rider as a more of a sort of dull bean counter who verifies the steps in my reasoning are correct afterwards, and ruins my fun for some of my wilder flights of fancy.
I’m slowly learning to like the rider more—it’s doing more than I give it credit for.
Probably some of the issue is trying to fit everything into these two categories. I think Sarah Constantin has convinced me that there are at least three things in the world—flow states, formal step-by-step reasoning and insight. I’ve been unthinkingly lumping flow state in with insight as the good stuff, and leaving the rider with just formal verification. Someone else might lump insight differently.