pages 131 to 138

Human Problem Solving: Knowledge or Randomness?

Some problems can be solved by applying knowledge alone: If we are experts in one field or another, we have no doubt that this or that problem can be solved in a very specific way which are previously aware of.
On the other hand completely unknown situations may make it necessary to generate strategies on a random basis and simply hope for the best.
But on a more general basis it seems quite straight-forward that most problems we have to deal with are neither solved solely by applying previously acquired knowledge nor solely on a random basis.
Almost always we at least have some kind of intuition what may be the best way to deal with whatever situation we may encounter.
Intuitions seem to consist of small knowledge fragments which may or may not be applicable to the current situation. But what is important is that intuitions very often lead is in the right direction. One may call this an "educated guess".
This is exactly what happens when we try to solve problems:
We try to use as many fragments of previously stored knowledge as possible; and whatever may still be missing is added on a random basis.