Gaze Heuristic

How does an outfielder catch a ball falling from the sky? Not by calculating its arc — no one can do that math in two seconds. He uses a rule of thumb so simple it seems like cheating: run so that the ball stays at a constant angle in your vision. Do that, and the ball lands in your glove.

This is a heuristic: a simple rule that solves a complex problem by ignoring almost everything about it. No computation of wind, speed, or trajectory — just one stable relationship, maintained.

The wider lesson overturns a deep prejudice: we assume hard problems need complex solutions. Often they need the right simple one. The pilot's rule, the sailor's rule, the carpenter's rule — wisdom compressed into instructions that fit on a hand.

When a problem seems to demand impossible calculation, ask: is there a gaze heuristic for this — one thing I could keep constant that would carry me to the target? The smart answer is often not more processing. It is a better rule.