Llama36: just watch any GM analyze their game in the post mortem. They sometimes do it on camera for the fans. They show that they calculated every line to the end.
N-no... in post-game interviews they'll generally give a 4-6 move variation and render an evaluation.
Maybe it's a language issue... maybe you don't mean "calculate" the same way I do. For example in my own games, I might decide a move is bad because I know certain patterns... ok, like the 5 move smothered mate for example. I can "see" that and avoid it without calculating the individual moves the same way an adult reads a word without looking at individual letters. But maybe you would call that calculation. Maybe we're using the word differently.
We are not using the word differently.
Of course, if you notice a pattern and you know that some move is good or bad, but that happens only occasionally. In most positions there are many plausible candidate moves and many implausible ones.
What do you think GMs are doing when they play a single slow game for 5 hours? What are they thinking about? Their lineup in their NBA Fantasy League game? No. They calculate a lot, they calculate even seemingly crazy moves, because they do not want to get crushed by an unlikely-looking tactical blow.
Well for example, I might calculate a 2-3 move sequence where I open the c file but my opponent can use c4 as an outpost for their knight. If it's not a situation I immediately understand then I'll spend some time trying to figure out if that's ok.
So, without calculating, I imagine my rook on c1 their knight on c4. Can I play around the knight (ignore it). Can I sacrifice my rook for the knight? How many moves will it take my opponent to get there and can I use those moves to make something else happen? Which squares / pieces will be vulnerable when my opponent is making this maneuver? If I get 3 free moves in a row, how can I pressure those squares / pieces?
Some positions are calm and have no tactics... so move-by-move calculation is pointless. So I sit there thinking about things like this.
Okay, I have to admit that we DID use the word "calculation" diffierently. What you are describing above is calculation in my book.
Ok 
Llama36: just watch any GM analyze their game in the post mortem. They sometimes do it on camera for the fans. They show that they calculated every line to the end.
N-no... in post-game interviews they'll generally give a 4-6 move variation and render an evaluation.
Maybe it's a language issue... maybe you don't mean "calculate" the same way I do. For example in my own games, I might decide a move is bad because I know certain patterns... ok, like the 5 move smothered mate for example. I can "see" that and avoid it without calculating the individual moves the same way an adult reads a word without looking at individual letters. But maybe you would call that calculation. Maybe we're using the word differently.
We are not using the word differently.
Of course, if you notice a pattern and you know that some move is good or bad, but that happens only occasionally. In most positions there are many plausible candidate moves and many implausible ones.
What do you think GMs are doing when they play a single slow game for 5 hours? What are they thinking about? Their lineup in their NBA Fantasy League game? No. They calculate a lot, they calculate even seemingly crazy moves, because they do not want to get crushed by an unlikely-looking tactical blow.
Well for example, I might calculate a 2-3 move sequence where I open the c file but my opponent can use c4 as an outpost for their knight. If it's not a situation I immediately understand then I'll spend some time trying to figure out if that's ok.
So, without calculating, I imagine my rook on c1 their knight on c4. Can I play around the knight (ignore it). Can I sacrifice my rook for the knight? How many moves will it take my opponent to get there and can I use those moves to make something else happen? Which squares / pieces will be vulnerable when my opponent is making this maneuver? If I get 3 free moves in a row, how can I pressure those squares / pieces?
Some positions are calm and have no tactics... so move-by-move calculation is pointless. So I sit there thinking about things like this.
Okay, I have to admit that we DID use the word "calculation" diffierently. What you are describing above is calculation in my book.