Catching a Flying Ball – is that Really that Easy? A Contribution to the Critique of G. Gigerenzer's Approach

Poddiakov, Alexander N.

Catching a Flying Ball – is that Really that Easy? A Contribution to the Critique of G. Gigerenzer's Approach

Psychologia kognitivnykh processov: Materialy 4 vserossiiskoi konferentsii [Psychology of cognitive processes: Proceedings of the 4th All-Russian conference]. Ed. by A.G.Egorov, & V.V.Selivanov. Smolensk: Smolensk State University.

3 Pages Posted: 3 Sep 2014

See all articles by Alexander N. Poddiakov

Alexander N. Poddiakov

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)

Date Written: May 15, 2013

Abstract

The Gigerenzer school’s omnipresent example of fast and frugal heuristics--the gaze heuristic of catching a fly ball—is criticized. It is shown that the player following such heuristics will touch the ball not by the hand but by the receptor gauging the angle’s magnitude, i.e., the eye. Real catching flying things, in contrast with the gaze heuristic, is an instance of a complex cognitive system delivering a simpler and more effective result, whereas more primitive cognitive tools yield a more complex and ineffective solution.

Keywords: fast and frugal heuristics, gaze heuristic, Gigerenzer, complex cognitive systems

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Poddiakov, Alexander N., Catching a Flying Ball – is that Really that Easy? A Contribution to the Critique of G. Gigerenzer's Approach (May 15, 2013). Psychologia kognitivnykh processov: Materialy 4 vserossiiskoi konferentsii [Psychology of cognitive processes: Proceedings of the 4th All-Russian conference]. Ed. by A.G.Egorov, & V.V.Selivanov. Smolensk: Smolensk State University., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2484001