Looking at things now, compared with then

Do you ever look at something a while after you did it, and realised that it wasn't actually what you perceived it to be then? I don't know if this happens to you, but it happens to me all the time.

The example that made me think of this, was earlier today I was writing a lab report for the NMR lab I did just over a week ago. In one of the experiments you had to choose the right capacitor value so the amplification would be as centred on the frequency of resonance as possible. You can forget all that if you want to as you don't need it for what follows. On the day, we chose 11 nF as that looked the best (I specifically remember thinking this). But when I was writing the report, 11.1 nF was clearly better. In my report I had to write, "On the day, the 11 nF run looked the best so that was what was used for the remainder of the experiments, but looking at it now, the 11.1 nF one looks marginally better."

It happens to me all the time. I'll have a maths problem in my assignment that I'll puzzle over for ages and not get it. Then look at it later and it'll all be clear. Or similarly, I'll give a long, complicated proof or example, then look at it later and think of a much simpler version. There are all sorts of things like this. (Though on second thoughts, these two can be explained by me thinking over in the time in between.)

For good measure, I'll throw in those times when something seems like a good idea when you do it, but you look back and think, "Why did I do that? That was stupid."

I've rambled enough now, I think.