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In her keynote speech titled "Cultivating Instinct," presented at the Keep Ruby Weird 2016 event, Katrina Owen explores the intricacies of expertise and intuition, drawing connections between cognitive science and real-world applications. Owen begins by recounting a serendipitous encounter with a neuroscientist, suggesting that insights can emerge from unexpected interactions. The main theme revolves around understanding and training our instinctual responses, particularly in fields requiring rapid decision-making and specialization.

Key Points Discussed:  
- **Synesthesia**: Owen introduces synesthesia as a unique neurological condition that provides individuals with additional layers of perception, framing it as a metaphor for instinctual understanding.  
- **Expertise Development**: The transition from novice to expert involves a shift from deliberate, conscious processing to automatic, intuitive responses, illustrated through examples from various fields.  
- **Learning Dynamics**: Owen elaborates on the distinct phases of learning involving perceptual learning theories, which encompass discovery effects (how we perceive information) and fluency effects (the efficiency of processing that information).  
- **Perceptual Learning**: Citing researcher Eleanor Gibson, Owen describes an experiment demonstrating how participants can improve their perceptual resolution by identifying distinguishing features among seemingly random shapes.  
- **Training Intuition**: Cognitive scientist Philip Kellman's work shows that intuition can be explicitly trained. Owen discusses how Kellman successfully raised the accuracy of pilots and middle school students through targeted perceptual training, challenging conventional expectations about learning times.  
- **The Role of Feedback**: Owen highlights the importance of feedback in learning environments, emphasizing that individuals grow and refine their skills when they receive corrective guidance during practice.  
- **Practical Application**: She illustrates these concepts through her experiences with programming and debugging, suggesting that understanding perceptual aspects can lead to more efficient problem-solving in technical tasks.

**Conclusions and Takeaways**:  
- Mastery involves not just speed and surface knowledge but an ability to synthesize experiences into actionable insights.  
- Training should focus on the nuances of perception and intuition, especially in complex fields like programming, where a deep understanding of patterns is essential.  
- By recognizing and cultivating these instinctual skills, individuals can enhance their expertise and intuitive decision-making in various disciplines, fostering innovation and creativity in their work.

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