Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious

We think of intelligence as a deliberate, conscious activity guided by the laws of logic. Yet much of our mental life... » More

We think of intelligence as a deliberate, conscious activity guided by the laws of logic. Yet much of our mental life is unconscious, based on processes alien to logic: gut feelings, or intuitions. I argue that intuition is more than impulse and caprice; it has its own rationale. This can be described by fast and frugal heuristics, which exploit evolved abilities in our brain. Heuristics ignore information and try to focus on the few important reasons. More information, more time, even more thinking, are not always better, and less can be more. Talk given by Gerd Gigerenzer, Director, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany. « Hide