http://www.clockbackward.com/2009/12/30/should-we-trust-our-gut-the-idealization-of-intuition-and-instinct/ A Mathematician Writes About Philosophy, Science, Rationality, Ethics, Religion, Skepticism and the Search for Truth Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:51:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.clockbackward.com/2009/12/30/should-we-trust-our-gut-the-idealization-of-intuition-and-instinct/comment-page-1/#comment-1944 Julia Galef Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:45:40 +0000 http://www.clockbackward.com/?p=476#comment-1944 This is a great way of parsing the different things people tend to lump under the single phrase "gut instinct". I think many people also use the phrase to mean something extra-sensory entirely. Or rather, they think "intuition" is actually like a sixth sense, giving them information that can't be traced back to the other five senses. An example: the feeling that something bad/good is going to happen, without any concrete justification. It's also worth mentioning that widespread faith in intuition may partly be due to selective memory (i.e., remembering the times when you had a hunch about something and it happened to be true, and forgetting/not noticing the times when your hunch didn't pan out). This is a great way of parsing the different things people tend to lump under the single phrase “gut instinct”. I think many people also use the phrase to mean something extra-sensory entirely. Or rather, they think “intuition” is actually like a sixth sense, giving them information that can’t be traced back to the other five senses. An example: the feeling that something bad/good is going to happen, without any concrete justification.
It’s also worth mentioning that widespread faith in intuition may partly be due to selective memory (i.e., remembering the times when you had a hunch about something and it happened to be true, and forgetting/not noticing the times when your hunch didn’t pan out).

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