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In a recent novel, I came across a brief discussion about the very interesting subject of “intuition.” It got my attention because I have thought about the value of intuition in decision making, especially in trading the markets, for decades.
Many people think intuition is just a form of guessing. Actually, it is much more. Some researchers say it is “the highest form of Intelligence.” Is it?
I conclude that length of experience, and the amount of time spent on creative thinking and analyzing, would cause that database in the brain to expand. It seems logical. However, I have no scientific proof of that.
I believe that our brain has a huge, or small, depending on the person, database. It would be much larger for people who read, study, research, and are naturally curious. Intuition comes from the processing of all this data subconsciously. Think of it like a supercomputer or ‘Watson’ from IBM, which processes billions of data points per second to come to a decision.
Of course, people with a small database would have a less valuable intuition. In that case, Intuition may only be a good guess. Look at many of today’s youth, wandering around shopping centers or the streets, obsessed with their mobile device, listening to what is called “music” today. The brain doesn’t get enough data to create a valuable data base for other things besides today’s hit tunes.
It is widely acknowledged that intuition often gives more accurate answers than emotions or even what is described as research. However, again it depends on the value of the persons’s “database.”
I recently came across an article on intuition by Bruce Kasanoff on Forbes.com. He quoted Gerd Gigerenzer, a director at the prestigious Max Planck Institute. He authored the book, Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious. He says:
In a recent novel, I came across a brief discussion about the very interesting subject of “intuition.” It got my attention because I have thought about the value of intuition in decision making, especially in trading the markets, for decades.
Many people think intuition is just a form of guessing. Actually, it is much more. Some researchers say it is “the highest form of Intelligence.” Is it? We often call it our “gut feel.”
Well, our gut doesn’t do any thinking except perhaps telling we are hungry. “Gut feel” is intuition. Often we are ready to make a decision, but feel uncomfortable about it for some reason. That could be intuition, giving us a subtle warning.
You may wish to buy a stock after hearing an analyst on TV talk about it. However, if you are uneasy about it for an unexplained reason, it would be wise to do some research on it before plunging in. Your intuition may be trying to tell you something. But you have to be sure that you can identify the reason for doubt. It shouldn’t just be a matter of inability to make a decision, an obstacle many people have.
I believe that our brain has a huge, or small, database. It would be much larger for people who read, study, research, and are naturally curious. Intuition comes from the processing of all this data subconsciously. Think of it like a supercomputer or ‘Watson’ from IBM which processes billions of data points per second to come to a decision.
Of course, people with a small database would have a less valuable intuition. In that case, intuition may only be a good guess. Look at many of today’s youth, wandering around shopping centers or the streets, obsessed with their mobile device, listening to what is called “music” today. The brain doesn’t get enough data to create a valuable data base for other things besides today’s hit tunes.
I conclude that length of experience, and the amount of time spent on creative thinking and analyzing, and reading important literature, would cause that database in the brain to expand. It seems logical. However, I have no scientific proof of that.
It is widely acknowledged that intuition often gives more accurate answers than emotions or even what is described as research. However, again it depends on the value of the person’s “database.”
I recently came across an article on intuition by Bruce Kasanoff on Forbes.com. He quoted Gerd Gigerenzer, a director at the prestigious Max Planck Institute. He authored the book, Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious. He says:
“In my scientific work, I have hunches. I can’t explain always why I think a certain path is the right way, but I need to trust it and go ahead. I also have the ability to check these hunches and find out what they are about. That’s the science part. Now, in private life, I rely on instinct. For instance, when I first met my wife, I didn’t do computations. Nor did she.”
Bruce Kasanoff paraphrased Albert Einstein:
“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.”
Kasanoff continues:
“If all you do is sit in a chair and trust your intuition, you are not exercising much intelligence. But if you take a deep dive into a subject and study numerous possibilities, you are exercising intelligence when your gut instinct tells you what is – and isn’t – important.”
Let me humbly reference my own experiences with intuition in the investment markets and the economy. I hope it won’t come across as bragging, because it isn’t. There are plenty of times when even intuition doesn’t prevent me from being wrong. Perhaps on those topics, my in-brain database is incomplete.