I Started To Lose Myself Somewhere In Here

In stories, characters (often hard-boiled types) will say 'I guess we have to do this the hard way.' Or something to that effect. This often seems to be used in reference to an attempt to make another character divulge information by simply asking, or making threats that haven't yet been acted upon.

Here's your question: What is the easy way to determine you need to do things the hard way?

The simplest would be to skip straight to the hard way immediately, but if it wasn't necessary, then you really didn't need to do things the hard way? Which suggests trying the easy way first is necessary. But then you've gone to all the trouble of trying the easy way. Does asking someone if they feel cooperative count as the "easy way", even if the purpose is to find out if the easy way will work, as opposed to an attempt to get the information you want? It feels like it does.

This feels like an experience thing, where you need to have dealt with people in similar situations before, or tried this particular project before. Then you already know from past attempts whether people will talk if you ask nicely. Or if you can pull a tractor onto a trailer by detaching the trailer from the truck and chaining the tractor to the tow hitch, then driving away from the trailer*.

In that scenario, you might easily be able to look at the individual situation and recognize similar aspects that tell you the easy way won't work. So that individual situation you're able to easily switch to the hard way, but you still had to have those past experiences where you tried the easy way first. It's like an asymptotic graph where the time needed to decide to go the hard way declines as your opportunities increases, towards some time threshold you can't beat (your recognition/reaction time?). On the micro scale, you've done it the easy way, but macrowise, not as much.

I can't think of a better solution, though, besides the idea of immediately discounting the easy way ever working, so that you always start with the hard way regardless of circumstances. But that's not a great solution, either.

It's probably good I waited until after work to try and sort this out. I'm sure my coworkers would find it strange if I fell to the ground abruptly screaming "I can't make sense to myself!" Or maybe they'd wonder what took so long.

* My single experience says that doesn't work. Which is what my dad said would happen, but then, why did he try it anyway? To teach me something? I think he was out of ideas once the handles of both his chain hoists bent.