INAMB (I'm not a marine biologist), but one of my best friends is. And I can say that the profession is refreshingly light hearted. At least, compared to other scientific disciplines. Here you can hear actual marine biologists in real time discovering a new species at the bottom of the ocean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEhYJEQmExE
They sound like 5 year olds who have just found an abandoned kitten at the park, don't they? Can you see this kind of people withholding measurements because of pecking order issues?
When I was in the military the military has courses that I think subtly teach you to do this. You learn a bunch of academic stuff, then they go through some what I would call dry run exercises, then finally you're put in an immersive exercise. They do this with things like combat and medical trauma that often require making the right decisions at the right time and considering counter-decisions or seeing consequences into the future. Anecdotally when my base was attacked I almost saw myself performing actions that I'd rehearsed. Of course, situations changed rapidly and at times I let myself have a moment of awe in what I was in, but then it was back to doing things I knew.
In this way, I think speedy, correct decision making is the result of familiarity. Also yes, I'd like to sleep on a bed of baby octopuses carrying me through the sea.
The researchers saw brooding octopuses at a warm vent. Since prevailing wisdom said they hatch only in cold water, they went away.
Only when they came back (for other reasons) they realized that they discovered something.
I noticed this myself when running over warning signs that were obvious in hindsight. Haven’t found a way to fully avoid this without becoming overly suspicious and slow down decisions.
And: aren’t those tiny octopuses adorable?