Half of What You Believe about Intuition Is Wrong
The basic idea: When most professionals talk about intuition, they are speaking about intuitive judgment: how we make decisions.
There is a second type of intuition, however, that many people entirely ignore: intuitive insight.
In a fascinating paper by Viktor Dorfler and Fran Ackermann, the authors argue that...
Based on recent research involving in-depth interviews with Nobel Laureates and creative people of similar standing, we are inclined to believe that no significant creative result has been achieved in any other way than by means of intuition.
Taking this belief one step further, the authors make the case that, "There is intuition which is not judgement, which actually produces the (new knowledge). This is what we call intuitive insight.
A bit more background: "Everywhere I went (in the creative process)," recalls Paul Simon about his efforts to write the now-classic song, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, "Led me to where I didn't want to be. I was stuck."
Simon just had a fragment of the song. In retrospect, he realizes he must have eventually been subconsciously influenced by gospel music he liked from the group, the Swan Silvertones. He started playing around with gospel-style chord progressions and broke his creative logjam. To be clear, Simon didn't devise a plan to do this; he just did it. Only later did he figure out what must have happened.
If you want to be truly original, creative or innovative... you'll need to harness intuitive insight. This does not mean to use intuition in decisions you make during a creative process. It means being open to eureka moments in which you make intuitive leaps. It also means recognizing that too great a reliance on logic and conscious thought will never result in truly innovative leaps forward.
Just because you can't explain the source of your insight doesn't mean your insight is flawed. The whole point of intuitive insight is that it involves leaping to a new level without fully understanding everything that made that leap possible.
Bruce Kasanoff is a social media ghostwriter for entrepreneurs who helps his clients communicate what matters most.
I help people rediscover their passion for life by listening more. Speaker | Listener | Writer | Mentor | Trainer | Bra fitting expert
5 å¹´It's taken me many years to really appreciate and trust my intuition. As an entrepreneur many steps are taken "just because it feels right" which no-one else understands. As a child we take similar steps and just "do, because". When I lost my self belief I also stopped listening to myself. It's taken over ten years to really trust my intuition again. Now my next step is actually in helping others to discover and use this skill. How fascinating that on the day we launch our program to support people to learn how to listen to their intuition I find your article Bruce Kasanoff?which perfectly sums up why many are scared of actually taking leaps and steps. It feels wrong to many to listen to themselves and not what others have done, as Jocelyn Ring?says too. Only each of us has the key to unlock our own joy and success. Only by listening to ourselves can we really unlock our own passions and talents which in turn serve others. Today my action step is actually to take a leap of faith! Ha! Intuitive steps are simple, but they're not always easy! Learning to listen is one thing. Learning to trust and take action on your intuition is something else.
log jams should not happen, i use mind maps to establish links, then continue applied thinking to finalise the path.
Healthcare System Design/Political strategist
5 年I’ve always thought that
Kisread University President |Program Instructor|Zschool|Connecting Universities & Corporations|Engineering Leadership Certificate Program |University of California Santa Barbara PaCE
5 年But the saying that ‘brilliant ideas are the mothers of Invention’ which without missing words breeds the concepts of creativity and innovation. All of these are architect of intuition that predicates on decision making.