Intuition

Max, really well put, certainly fits Einstein

And myself of course

…..Not that I'm comparing me……

Again Max, I'm not so sure in this case that intuition is a downside. Instead I see the force of greed and avarice at one extreme with the relatively feebler intuition at the other

Our disagreement Max doubtless largely semantic, I'd define intuition as a form of reason, however subliminal

Clearly not. Reason is, by definition, a concious act. If you can't explain and define your reasoning process, then it isn't reason.

The whole point of reason is that it is out in the open. Every step in the reasoning process can be examined and questioned. This is a powerful thing since problems in your logic can be challenged and fixed. You can't correct an intuition because you can't express or question what it is based on. An intuition just is.

There is no such thing as "sublimimal" reason.

Interesting response, Max, I'll hafta entertain for a while. Meantime here are about 100 other defs

http://onelook.com/?w=Reason&ls=a

A divergence largely semantical since after all nothing is entirely anything while everything is partly something else

max really has a hard-on for intutition.

I perceive it to, sometimes, be a sub-concious reading of non-verbal language, and in that context it can be quite accurate.

Of course it isn't 100% reliable because people are more than capable of fooling themselves into thinking that their gut feeling is not predicated upon the outcome they desire.

Of course reasoning isn't 100% reliable either, and for the same reason.

I am not sure what is confusing you, Finn. Either you don't understand my position on intuition, or you are unclear on what "hard-on" is.

Reasoning is superior to intuition. Reasoning is open and testable. Of course it isn't 100% reliable, but it is superior.

A conscious train of thought can be examined. You can tell your reasoning to other people for their reasoned feedback. They can point out problems with your reasoning.

A "sub-conscious reading" (as you describe intuition) is opaque. You can't examine your subconscious. Non-verbal language can't be questioned. Sure, intuition can be accurate, just as it can be completely bogus. But not being about to test it you kind of have to just trust.

I wouldn't want to fly on an airplane built by intuion.

Einstein is an interesting example of reason and intuition.

Einstein's great successes started with a great idea. He explored a couple of very important thoughts (with relativity and the photoelectric effect) that no one else had taken. This was great creativity and can be called intuition.

But, of course, Einstein's successful work was completely well-reasoned. He worked out the math... every point. He understood experimental work and previous theories and made sure that his results matched.

And Einstein published well-reasoned papers. Every step was documented with rigorous math. Every point of his reasoning can be understood by other scientists and questioned (and it was).

Einsteins greatest failure was his inability to accept Quantum Mechanics. This, ironically, is a field of science based on his work on the Photoelectric effect.

But when other men reasoned further, Einstein balked based on his intuition. His famous line objecting to Quantum Physics was "God does not play dice with the Universe".

Of course, in this case, Einstein was wrong.

Thanks Finn

Yea, esp mine

Yet Max without intuition we'd still be living in caves

You can but it requires a sort of specialized knowledge not many of us possess and as you say it's hardly 100% reliable

LiveLoughLaugh24 wrote:


I understand the feelings.

I think intuition is a form of instinct ...there's definitively a relationship

Yea Germ well put, instinct as well as reason, definitely an evolutionary attribute