But what if people sometimes know what they're talking about?

[nancylebov]

A while ago, there was a study which turned up that the difference between very good chess players and other chess players is that the very good players think about what happens if their preferred move doesn't work.

Here is a rant with about not getting accurate information about food allergens followed by a shocking number of comments about people who slip allergens to the allergic because "the allergy is all in their heads". While I'd heard of this happening, it was done by an especially malevolant person--I had no idea it was common behavior.

Aside from going into "I hate people" mode, is there any conceivable way to teach people to ask themselves, "But what if it doesn't work?"?

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Lunacon was at a new hotel this year, and as is commonly the case, the management didn't believe anything the committee said about how much the attendees would be using the restaurant, elevators, or anything else. Is this a matter of people just don't believe what they're told and/or that if you have a business, people will tell you how to run it, and the accuracy level isn't especially high? Could it be worthwhile for fans to put together an educational packet for new hotels with pictures of crowded restaurants, numbers from past conventions, and quotes from con-experienced hotel managements?

Comments

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

The part of all of this that surprises me is that the best chess player I know distinctly does not think about what will happen if his strategies don't work. (He actually becomes *exceedingly* angry if you do anything unexpected and demands an explanation as to why you did that, this move made more sense for you, etc.)

Perhaps he could be even better.