Intuition

Intuiting can be conceptualized as a way of direct knowing, that is, knowing “without any use of conscious reasoning” (Sinclair & Ashkanasy, 2005, p. 357), through a process that seems to bypass sequential (i.e., step-by-step) reasoning. Although the terms intuiting and intuition are often used interchangeably, it is important to differentiate between them. Whereas intuiting is the process of direct knowing, intuition is the outcome of this process. Top professionals in any area of expertise, including scientists, engineers, business managers, musicians, chefs, athletes, and designers, are esteemed precisely for their sense of the game in their domains, even when formally they are recognized for performance. Yet, until recently, it was mainly philosophers who advocated for intuition, while the scientific community was wary of it.