We spend years learning to suppress our instincts,
then more years teaching our children to suppress theirs.Why do we do things we regret?
— C.G.Ayling (@CGAyling) November 21, 2016
We spend years learning to suppress our instincts, then more years teaching our children to suppress theirs. Why do we do things we regret?
Many scientists say we have “intuitions” all the time, however since they are usually wrong and we don’t like admitting we’re wrong even to ourselves, we forget them. They believe that only occasionally are our intuitions proven correct, therefore when that happens we tend to remember and emphasize them.
I say nonsense.
I don’t have intuitions often, but when I do I am always very very aware of them, and they are virtually never wrong. Indeed, I think they are never wrong, though sometimes I cannot know whether they would prove true as I listen to my gut and either get out whatever situation invoked them, or entirely avoid whatever it was that raised the hackles on the back of my neck. Unfortunately I sometimes ignore my intuition, which is when regret comes into play. In an attempt to understand what caused them, I also tend to analyze them afterwards. Seldom do I find definitive answers.
What do you think? Is intuition arcane nonsense we are better served without, or do we have senses other than the scientifically defined five?
Personally, I’m inclined toward the latter. Oh, and yes – I did use the plural, “senses“, not the singular “sixth“.
We like to simplify things because doing so lends itself to easy understanding. But things are seldom as simple as we make them seem…
