In the same way, dynamic programming algorithms, constraint satisfaction algorithms, and even the simplex algorithm are brute force methods that take a little knowledge a long way. In the same way that all programs can be seen as a combination of data structures and algorithms, all problem solving can be seen as a combination of search and knowledge. So search is half of all thinking, and it shouldn't be surprising that we can get good results by searching well. This view can be traced back at least as far as Newell and Simon's General Problem Solver, and it is directly embodied in Soar . It is a weak view, in that by itself it doesn't say anything about what knowledge to use or how to search, but by the same token it is completely general.
Humans think slowly.
We don't have any choice but to prefer knowledge over search in our reasoning, because we're too sluggish to search much. Besides being the fastest chess program, Deep Blue is also thought to be one of the smartest. Because its evaluation function is implemented in custom hardware, Deep Blue can apply evaluation knowledge in parallel. That means it can take advantage of more knowledge in each evaluation without slowing down, whereas a software-only chess program becomes slower when knowledge is added. Brute force alone solves nothing.