On Feminine Intuition
There is a stereotype of men relying on logic and women on intuition to solve problems -- as if the two methods are mutually exclusive. There is also sometimes -- I've observed -- a kind of snobbish pride among some men who feel that logic is a superior method. Feminine intuition, they seem to feel, is mere guesswork further blurred by emotion. On the other hand, I've also noticed a kind of snobbish pride among some women who seem to believe that their intuition is infallible and far superior to logic in that they do not have to use logic; they just "know".
Always seeking to find a middle ground, I've never been one to deny that feminine intuition really does exist, yet I also believe that it is sometimes confused with other emotional signals. Just what do I think it is?
Well, looking to good ol' Webster....in·tu·i·tion "in-tü-'i-sh&n, -tyü- n {ME intuycyon, from LL intuition-, intuitio act of contemplating, from Latin intueri to look at, contemplate, from in- + tueri to look at} 1 : quick and ready insight 2 a : immediate apprehension or cognition b : knowledge or conviction gained by intuition c : the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference
It is definition 2c that is what is generally meant when the phrase "feminine intuition" is used. (It is silly, I feel, to use the modifier "feminine", as if men cannot have intuition or as if women's intuition is somehow different. I think intuition is a human thing, which women may tend to use more frequently than men.)
It seems that "intuition" originally was used as a term for "looking into" something to solve a problem, an act altogether different from closing one's eyes and randomly drawing straws. And this is how I think intuition really works; I believe that intuition is logical. The only difference I see between "masculine logic" and "feminine intuition" is in the 1st person awareness of what is going on in the brain, but the brain is in fact "looking into" the problem in the "background".
Our amazing brains are constantly solving problems of which we are unaware. I believe that intuition is when our brains solve a problem without our consciousnesses being aware of the logic behind the solution. Now, this is not to say that intuition is always correct. People's brains are just as fallible as people's consciousnesses, people using "logic" still make logical mistakes.
The reason intuition is tied to emotions is because emotions are a way of our body and/or brain communicating with "us". That is, if we feel scared, our body has received inputs from the senses that, when interpreted in the background by the brain, cause the brain to arrive at the conclusion -- through "looking into" the problem -- that fight or flight is a necessary response. Chemicals are released into the body that are "felt" by the consciousness, at which point we decide on a course of action: fight, flee, or ignore. I see intuition as the same thing. A problem is before us that the brain attempts to solve. It releases chemicals such that one choice "just feels right" while the other does not.
(Now one way to test this hypothesis would be to see if the intuition of people with higher IQs resulted in a greater percentage of "correct" choices.)
How does this idea change one's response to intuition? Well, I think intuition should never be flat out ignored. You probably feel a choice is correct or a person is shady for a reason. But just like you would not make an important decision without seeking more than one souse of advice, never rely on intuition alone. Likewise, just because a choice you've thought through consciously seems logically wise, maybe the fact that it still feels wrong should clue you in to an error in your conscious logic. In other words, I believe a wise decision maker should use both.
Always seeking to find a middle ground, I've never been one to deny that feminine intuition really does exist, yet I also believe that it is sometimes confused with other emotional signals. Just what do I think it is?
Well, looking to good ol' Webster....in·tu·i·tion "in-tü-'i-sh&n, -tyü- n {ME intuycyon, from LL intuition-, intuitio act of contemplating, from Latin intueri to look at, contemplate, from in- + tueri to look at} 1 : quick and ready insight 2 a : immediate apprehension or cognition b : knowledge or conviction gained by intuition c : the power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference
It is definition 2c that is what is generally meant when the phrase "feminine intuition" is used. (It is silly, I feel, to use the modifier "feminine", as if men cannot have intuition or as if women's intuition is somehow different. I think intuition is a human thing, which women may tend to use more frequently than men.)
It seems that "intuition" originally was used as a term for "looking into" something to solve a problem, an act altogether different from closing one's eyes and randomly drawing straws. And this is how I think intuition really works; I believe that intuition is logical. The only difference I see between "masculine logic" and "feminine intuition" is in the 1st person awareness of what is going on in the brain, but the brain is in fact "looking into" the problem in the "background".
Our amazing brains are constantly solving problems of which we are unaware. I believe that intuition is when our brains solve a problem without our consciousnesses being aware of the logic behind the solution. Now, this is not to say that intuition is always correct. People's brains are just as fallible as people's consciousnesses, people using "logic" still make logical mistakes.
The reason intuition is tied to emotions is because emotions are a way of our body and/or brain communicating with "us". That is, if we feel scared, our body has received inputs from the senses that, when interpreted in the background by the brain, cause the brain to arrive at the conclusion -- through "looking into" the problem -- that fight or flight is a necessary response. Chemicals are released into the body that are "felt" by the consciousness, at which point we decide on a course of action: fight, flee, or ignore. I see intuition as the same thing. A problem is before us that the brain attempts to solve. It releases chemicals such that one choice "just feels right" while the other does not.
(Now one way to test this hypothesis would be to see if the intuition of people with higher IQs resulted in a greater percentage of "correct" choices.)
How does this idea change one's response to intuition? Well, I think intuition should never be flat out ignored. You probably feel a choice is correct or a person is shady for a reason. But just like you would not make an important decision without seeking more than one souse of advice, never rely on intuition alone. Likewise, just because a choice you've thought through consciously seems logically wise, maybe the fact that it still feels wrong should clue you in to an error in your conscious logic. In other words, I believe a wise decision maker should use both.