Well, (not 'so'. I'm so not starting with 'so'), another week, another blog entry. Is it really Thursday already? My, that week just flew by.
Etc.
I'd like to say from the outset that I'm not suggesting that this is a problem unique to me, nor that it's not the case that everyone has this problem. That may well be true. I simply don't know about anyone else. 'I don't know about you, but I-...'
My problem, gentle reader (my sweet, tender reader), is that I have a tendency to think very quickly. A curse, I know (but read on to learn firsthand how having quick wits isn't all bad). I'd like to say from the outset that this isn't a boast about intelligence. You're not that gullible. There is a distinction, certainly, but until I explain what I mean, I can't describe it to you (though if you're quick, and/or smart, you may have figured it out already). For the time being, suffice to say that the difference is there.
I've thought long and hard for a couple of seconds *pause for laughter* and come up with a suitable term for my tragic condition:
Cognizant Intuition.
It's time to roll out the Dictionary Definition of Things(c), like the cabinet in a tired old conjuror's act. Yes, we all know what to expect when the beautiful assistant disappears inside, and yet the audience collectively gasps in amazement as the beautiful assistant disappears! Who knew?! Certainly not I.
Intuition. noun. The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.
Thanks, OED. ThOEDanks.
There's also a lesser, but more everyday meaning, which suggests that intuition is just a guess of some sort, or else some weird supernatural ability. We shall shun this idea forthwith. Shun it. Shun it now, I say. Do you hear me?
Is it shunned?
Well okay, then. I shall continue.
I have it on good authority (partially my own, but I believe there may have been others who came to the same conclusions, perhaps even gone so far as to publish them in respected psychology journals) that neither the supernatural, nor guesswork, has anything to do with how intuition actually works.
Normal, rational thought can be described as making a series of what are individually rationally sound decisions ('If A, then it necessarily follows that B. A, in point of fact, therefore B. If B, then it necessarily follows that C. B, therefore C. A, therefore C'), eventually arriving at an apparently unpredicted point. ('Z! Wow! Who woulda thunk?!') Intuition leaps from the first to the last without apparently stopping off at any point in between. A, therefore Z. Little wonder that intuition is sometimes seen as preternatural. Little wonder therefore that it is so often distrusted (if not by ourselves, then by others. Probably by you, in fact *mutters darkly*).
But - the hypothesis goes - intuitive thought is simply thought freed up from the distractions and frictions of the conscious mind. It's all perfectly rational, but operating at a subconscious level. The thoughts are freed from niggling little details like words, are streamlined, and just zip along. But they remain subconscious, and therefore, by definition, NOT CONSCIOUS.
I have a handy little aphorism that elegantly describes the motto of this story: 'trust your intuitions. Or, at least, trust them as much as you trust your "normal", everyday, rational thoughts, which has the unfortunate side effect of making for a somewhat wordier-than-intended aphorism.' - d, 2009. Thursday.
Now, we haven't spoken about me for a bit, so I'd like to get back to that. I personally have my fair share of the bog standard, stock, intuition. But I also have this thing I like to call 'cognizant intuition'. [/air quotes]
The thing about the subconscious is that you're not supposed to know what's really going on inside it. That's sort of what it's for, probably. But a modicum of reflexion should be able to lead you to a modicum of a hint as to what's going on inside the dark recesses of your own skull. With experience, you can second guess yourself. Rational thought can lead us to rationally and consciously comprehend what might actually by definition be outside the realm of our conscious comprehension. In case it's not clear, all I'm saying here is that the conjuror performs a trick, and we know how it was done, while sitting in our seats, looking smug. We're not rationally and consciously aware of performing the trick, but we're party to its methods. Our reflexion can become more and more accomplished at this, until it becomes, first, second nature, and second, intuitive. First (I know the word is meaningless in the present context, in isolation like this, but it gives the phrasing symmetry. I have, however, included some instructions for those of you who like clearer sentence structure: first pay close attention to the first 'first', and to both the first and second 'second's. Second, ignore the second 'first'. But only for a second.)
Intuitive understanding of what you're actually subconsciously rationalising when you intuit might sound like a vicious circle (if it doesn't, read the sentence again until it does). But I don't think that's the case. It is, rather, self sustaining. Abstract, unclear thoughts in the swampy, depths of the mind are purified to absolute clarity; they become clean, refreshing, drinking water for... for the, um... head (which symbolically represents the thirsty part of us all. Sort of the mouth, I guess, but higher up... Um...)
Intuition works quickly because it exists within the subconscious, free of the semantic framework of our minds, but, paradoxically, becoming cognizant of this does not slow it down. The hand is quicker than the eye, but the brain is quicker than either. Do a card trick, keep your eye on the ace, the sleight of hand is faster than you can see, but you know it's there. You can see the invisible.
But let's move away from the metaphor of trickery. If rational thought is made of a series of steps, and intuition is a giant leap (ostensibly of faith), then there is perhaps a third analogy: The log flume ride: WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!
Let's take a break. See you in five.
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