--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first surprise is that people’s…" description: "\"“The first surprise is that people’s guesses are much more accurate than they would be by chance. I find this astonishing. A sense of cognitive ease is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/daniel-kahneman-431_computers_the-first-surprise-is-that-people-s-gues_544176.jpg" --- # The first surprise is that people’s guesses are much more… ![“The first surprise is that people’s guesses are much more accurate than they would be by chance. I find this astonishing. A sense of cognitive ease is apparently generated by a very faint signal from the associative machine, which “knows” that the three words are coherent (share an association)…” quote by Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/daniel-kahneman-431_computers_the-first-surprise-is-that-people-s-gues_544176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/daniel-kahneman-431_computers_the-first-surprise-is-that-people-s-gues_544176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b44/daniel-kahneman-431_computers_the-first-surprise-is-that-people-s-gues_544176.jpg) > ““The first surprise is that people’s guesses are much more accurate than they would be by chance. I find this astonishing. A sense of cognitive ease is apparently generated by a very faint signal from the associative machine, which “knows” that the three words are coherent (share an association) long before the association is retrieved.”” [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People can intuitively sense hidden connections, leading to surprisingly accurate guesses beyond random chance. **In simple terms:** Intuition often detects hidden patterns. Key Takeaway Trust subtle gut feelings when they arise. Themes cognition intuition pattern recognition Mood curious analytical Type psychological insightful When to use this quote - decision making - problem solving - creative brainstorming - risk assessment Key Concepts heuristics associative memory cognitive ease Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate genuine intuition from bias? - When should you seek evidence after a gut feeling? A Different Perspective Intuitive judgments can be biased or overconfident, requiring verification. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Associative Machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/associative-machine-4543264/) [Astonishing Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astonishing-sense-3432109/) [Cognitive Ease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cognitive-ease-1654594/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Sense Cognitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-cognitive-4543266/) [Signal Associative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signal-associative-4543265/) [Three Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-word/) [Three words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-words/) ## Related quotes > [“Several teams of German psychologists that have studied the RAT in recent years have come up with remarkable discoveries about cognitive ease. 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