{"id":29,"date":"2015-05-12T22:43:11","date_gmt":"2015-05-12T22:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/abealfreader5\/?post_type=chapter&p=29"},"modified":"2022-07-22T20:27:53","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T20:27:53","slug":"the-sixth-sense-intuition","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/abealfreader5\/chapter\/the-sixth-sense-intuition\/","title":{"raw":"The Sixth Sense: Intuition","rendered":"The Sixth Sense: Intuition"},"content":{"raw":"

Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.<\/p>\r\nhttps:\/\/media.bccampus.ca\/id\/0_9y1qqoh3?width=608&height=70&playerId=23449753\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_70\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"400\"]\"A<\/a> Firefighter[\/caption]\r\n\r\nA fire broke out in the kitchen of a house in Chicago, Illinois. A team of firefighters kicked down the door of the house. They stood in the living room as they sprayed water at the fire in the kitchen. Strangely, the fire would not go out. One of the firefighters had a feeling that something was very wrong. \u201cGet out, now!\u201d he ordered<\/strong>. The team ran out of the house. Moments later, the floor they had been\u00a0standing on in the living room collapsed<\/strong>.\r\n\r\nLooking back, the firefighter believed his brain must have had the ability to know the future. A researcher who studies decision-making wasn\u2019t so sure. He talked to the firefighter about what was going through his mind before he told everyone to get out of the house. The researcher found out that the firefighter had noticed three strange things: water was not putting out the fire, the living room was unusually<\/strong> hot, and the fire was unusually quiet. The researcher believed that the firefighter\u2019s intuition recognized this pattern and knew that the situation was not safe. A part of his brain beyond his own awareness knew that the fire was also in the basement underneath the living room, making the living room unusually hot and the fire unusually quiet.\r\n\r\nThe story shows that intuition can be a very important factor in decision-making. Intuition is the ability to know something without any proof. It is sometimes known as a \u201cgut feeling,\u201d \u201cinstinct,\u201d or \u201csixth sense.\u201d\r\n\r\nFor hundreds of years, intuition has had a bad reputation<\/strong> among scientists. It has often been seen as inferior<\/strong> to reason<\/strong>. But these days, many researchers see intuition as our brain\u2019s way of taking a shortcut<\/strong> based on our memories and knowledge. Like our ability to reason, sometimes our intuition is accurate<\/strong> and sometimes it\u2019s not.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_72\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"450\"]\"A<\/a> Dreamcatcher[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIntuition has long been a valued<\/strong> part of many First Nations cultures. It is recognized as one of many ways of knowing. Knowledge can be passed down from our elders, gained from experience, and revealed to us through dreams, visions, and intuitions.\r\n\r\nThere are many situations when intuition is more useful than reason. For example, intuition lends itself to making art. Jazz musicians who compose music in front of an audience are using their intuition, backed by years of practice. Some couples claim they \u201cjust knew\u201d they were meant to be together from the moment they met, so intuition may play an important role in choosing a mate. Intuition is also the part of the brain many people use to explore their spiritual<\/strong> side.\r\n\r\nAt the same time, our quick-thinking brains tend to have some biases<\/strong>. For example, our brains tend to think that something that is attractive must be good, when this isn\u2019t necessarily true. We also tend to pay attention to information that confirms our beliefs and ignore information that challenges our beliefs, causing us to believe things that are wrong. Sometimes we make a quick decision without thinking of all the possible options and end up regretting it. As a result, it is likely wise to use a balance of reason and intuition in our decision-making.\r\n

See The Sixth Sense: Intuition<\/a><\/em>\u00a0in BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Course Pack 5<\/a><\/em>.<\/div>\r\n

Attributions<\/h2>\r\nFirefighter<\/strong>\r\nImage<\/a> by\u00a0skeeze<\/a>\u00a0is in the public domain<\/a>.\r\n\r\nDreamcatcher<\/strong>\r\nImage<\/a> by Free-Photos<\/a>\u00a0is in the public domain<\/a>.","rendered":"

Click play on the following audio player to listen along as you read this section.<\/p>\n