Hunch: So Many Decisions

By on March 31, 2009 in Tech

I signed up for Hunch today.  Hunch, which is currently in beta, is a decision-making tool, built by its users.  Hunch was developed by Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, who describes the site thusly:

Hunch is a decision-making site, customized for you. Which means Hunch gets to know you, then asks you 10 questions about a topic (usually fewer!), and provides a result — a Hunch, if you will. It gives you results it wouldn’t give other people.

I’ve never been a proponent of mind-mapping or other thought-assistive applications, but I do consult various online resources to assist me with some decisions.  For example, I regularly consult the customer reviews at Amazon when considering books, records or electronics.  So I’m going to give Hunch a chance to earn its way into my online toolbox.

To get the most out of Hunch, you have to use it enough to allow the algorithm to map your preferences, etc.  This will take some time, but in the meantime, here’s how the Hunch process works.  Let’s start with one of the most popular questions.

Should I switch to a Mac?

Question 1:  Does your job make you use Microsoft Outlook for email?  Yep.
Question 2:  Are you willing to spend more than $1000 for a new computer?  Yes.
Question 3:  Are you going to use this computer primarily for advanced, 3D gaming?  No.
Question 4:  Are you in the design, advertising, music, or video production business?  Sometimes for music, but mostly No.
Question 5:  Are you ok using the web-based version of Outlook?  Yes, plus there’s my beloved iPhone.
Question 6:  Do you make heavy use of Microsoft Excel?  No.
Question 7:  How much do you need to use Visio?  I don’t even know what that is, so it’s “not a factor.”
Question 8:  Do you want to go "under the hood", change components yourself, to make your own personalized machine?  You bet I do.
Question 9:  Are you looking for a portable computer?  For purposes of this question, no.
Question 10:  Who do you prefer, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.  Actually, I prefer Elizabeth Mitchell.  So “not a factor.”

Looks like Dave and Earl are going to be happy. . .

hunch1

Based on conventional wisdom about Macs, I can’t argue too much with that.  I’m not going to switch, but I totally get the argument that I should.

Clicking the “Why did Hunch pick this” link leads to a less than fulfilling list of the answers that supported the switch and the ones that didn’t.

hunch2

It’s too early to tell, but the process is interesting, and thought-provoking.  The thought process will likely prove to one of Hunch’s biggest benefits- perhaps more so than the final answer.

OK, let’s try a more open ended question.

Which book author should I read?

Only 2 questions: fiction or nonfiction and sub-genre.  I choose fiction, and then science fiction.  The first suggestion was Cormac McCarthy.  Well, he just happens to be my favorite author.  Given there were only 2 questions, that has to be a coincidence.  If somehow not, it’s 90% impressive and 10% disturbing.  The second suggestion was Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  I tried thrice to read One Hundred Years of Solitude, and thrice I concluded digging ditches was an easier way to spend my time.  The third choice was Stanislaw Lem.  I’ve not read his books, but I know of them and some of them look interesting.  The “wild card” suggestion was James M. McPherson.  Don’t know of him, so no way to tell.

There are options within Hunch to create a topic.  I don’t know if I’ll ever do that, but if Wikipedia is any indication, there will be plenty of people who will.

Again, it’s too early to tell, but for now, Hunch is on my radar.

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About Kent

Reader, writer, arithmeticer. Proprietor of Newsome.Org, a tech, music and life blog.
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  • http://meanderingpassage.com/ Earl

    Hey Kent,On the Mac thing. I’m personally waiting to see if Microsoft will give me $1000 to spend on a new computer, a PC of course…so I can uninstall Windows and load Linux on it!! ~grin~

  • http://www.hunch.com/ Vinay

    Hi Kent, thanks for trying out Hunch! The topic “Which book author should I read?” is what we call a taste-driven topic. As you were playing the other topics and answering the “Teach Hunch About You” questions, Hunch was learning more and more about your personal tastes. When you finally arrived at the book author topic, it already had a pretty good idea about what you liked and didn’t like. It’s really as if Hunch had asked you the 2 questions you answered in this topic plus every other question you had previously answered. Based on the fact that other people with taste similar to yours also chose “Cormac McCarthy” as their favorite science fiction author, Hunch was able to figure out that it was probably the best choice for you as well. When you click on the “Why did Hunch pick this?” link, you will see the a line in a light grey color that says something like “Popularity Rank: #3 of 53 (among people like you) · #10 of 53 (among all Hunch users)” This should give you some more insight into why it chose a particular author for you.I hope this makes it a little less than 10% disturbing now :)

  • http://www.hunch.com/ Caterina Fake

    Except, Vinay, Cormac McCarthy isn’t a science fiction writer. :-) Not to say he isn’t ‘genre’ writer — he’s kind of a Southern Gothic Faulkner type. :-) But everything else you say is accurate. :-D

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/05268190745887737505 Kent

    Vinay, thanks for the comment. The more I get immersed in Hunch, the more I like it. Plus, it’s easy to pull for anything from the maker(s) of the most wonderful Flickr.Caterina, I’m sure that Cormac got put in the SF category because of The Road, which is very different from his other stuff and, at least manifestly, sci-fi. There’s tweaking to be done, but you and your team have a great start on something fantastic. Congrats!