Intuition as a Form of Intelligence

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Intelligence

Intuition is something many people may tell you to trust, explain as a gut feeling, but little else is ever discussed. When we really think about intuition, it could be said that those who have strong intuition, could be demonstrating a higher form of intelligence. This may be a broad statement, but when it comes to intuition, people who are intellectually curious and have a rigorous pursuit of knowledge while being willing to challenge their assumptions are intelligent. Put simply, sitting around just trusting your intuition is not showing intelligence, but studying possibilities and deep diving into topics is showing intelligence if your gut tells you what is or is not important to retain.

Intuition, in many respects, can be considered a clear understanding of collective intelligence. Take websites for example, most are organized in such a way that they are easy for the majority of people to navigate. This is an evolved approach after years of chaos led to common wisdom in organization and what was essential and what could be thought of as unnecessary. Intuitive design can be described as able to be understood without any instructions. When an object makes sense to the majority of people because of a shared understanding of how things work, then it has used intuitive design. There is power in disciplined intuition. Disciplined intuition is when you do the legwork, use your brain and logical arguments so your intuition is able to be respected and trusted. Put simply, the more research you do, the better your intuition.

Einstein is quoted as saying, “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” This means at times, group think can cause our rational side to go into wrong directions. The gnawing feeling you have in your gut is intuition telling you it is a wrong choice, even if you try to talk yourself into that direction. Those who are intelligent listen to the intuitive feeling. Rigid thinking can cause people and businesses to hit a wall. This is why data driven decisions can often lead to problems. While data can be important, it can not be the only factor in a decision because it is not a magic solution. That said, being too stubborn to ever look at data is just as dangerous. We need to keep data, but also respect the skill of intelligent intuition.

As technology increases and becomes smarter, we need to foster the uniquely human skill of intuition. Human skills will become more important in the years to come. We must learn to look at the facts, do the research, and apply rational thought, but if our gut still tells us something is off, we need to trust it. This will be what is needed in the future. Do your work, but trust your gut. It cannot be any simpler.