29.03.2024

Can you trust intuition?

To rely on intuition in today’s rational world is not accepted. Many people believe that analytical thinking is something that people got along with progress, and that intuition and emotion as factors for decision making are outdated. However, says Valerie van If it’s (Valerie van Mulukom) from Coventry University (Coventry University), is a misconception.

Emotions and intuition is not a random reaction, it is also the result of information processing in the brain, which is based on past experience, preserved in memory. The brain compares what is happening in the moment, the information that comes from the senses, from what it was before, and on the basis of previous actions and their results predicts what will happen next.

In fact, people are always ready to process incoming data in the best way, but if there is something brand new, that earlier counterparts were not – stored in the head information is added. All this occurs without the involvement of consciousness.

For example, a person may operate a motor vehicle in the dark in an unfamiliar area and suddenly, obeying intuition, to change the trajectory and to avoid thus suddenly appeared a hole. However, in reality this situation there is a rational explanation: the driver’s eyes saw running in front of the machine is slightly shifted in a certain place, the brain calculated probabilities and gave the order to follow the example of others. In fact, it turns out that intuition is a rational decision that “came” to mind, but ready to be implemented.

In the psychological literature describes two types of thinking: intuitive (automatic, fast, unconscious) and analytical (slow, logical and conscious). Many oppose these two species, but studies show that they often operate simultaneously and complement each other, and even serious scientific research can begin with a sudden idea, born of intuition, and only then reveal the idea using rational thought, testing and checking.

Both types of thinking have their pros and cons, and refuse to trust the instincts not to be, although in each case it is necessary to weigh all “for” and “against”.

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