Science about intuition

  • Published: 04-05-2014 Edited: 04-05-2014
  • Intuition is often described as being a ability to predict things outside the scope of the current context and it's history.

    Like the ability to predict how people are going to react to a new kind of event, or the ability to predict how a new type of vehicle will wok on a road.



    In contemporary neuroscience, the ability to predict is related to past experience. Like if a boy has fallen off a bike once, he can predict he might fall off if he it tries again. But our ability to predict is not strictly related to past experience.

    During sleep, the brain starts a process of organizing memories called consolidation. The brain organizes memories into two categorizes of longterm memories called semantic and episodic. The semantic memories are general facts which are not bound to specific events like 'bikes are transportation-vehicles' and episodic memories are memories which are bound to specific events like 'I rode a bike once and I fell off and hurt my leg'.

    There is a process in the brain which over a long period of time (months and years) reorganizes semantic and episodic memories into categorizes and into hierarchies. There is construction of networks between memories. So when you remember a specific life-event you may also automatically associate other memories with that memory.

    The more categorized a memory becomes, the much broader area it can be associated with. Here is an example: If a boy has fallen off a bike once and hurt his leg he might be careful when riding a motorbike because he predicts he might fall off that too. Another example: If a girl has learned that fruit often are very colorful she might look at a new object and predict it's a fruit because it's very colorful.

    There is evidence for that the brain uses different consolidation mechanisms for semantic and episodic longterm memories. This implies that when talking about Intuition in terms of typology, there are two forms of Intuition: Semantic Intuition and Episodic Intuition.

    Longterm memories are first accessed via the hippocampus, but after a long period of time the memories consolidates into the neocortex. The memories are also related to other areas of the brain. When using the emotional parts of the limbic system the episodic memory will be used both via the neocortex and via the hippocampus. When using the analytic parts of the prefrontal cortex the semantic memory will be used both via the neocortex and via the hippocampus.

    In the Neojungian Typology all types with AO have episodic intution and all types with AD have semantic intutition.



    People who has an Abstract Organic contexualization have the ability predict emotional and social consequences even in novel scenarios. People who has an Abstract Deterministic contexualization have the ability to predict analytical and logical consequences even in novel scenarios.

    People who have Abstract Organic contexualization or Abstract Deterministic contexualization as their preferred state tends to be identified as Intuitives in MBTI/Kiersey/Socionics.



    References

    Different consolidation mechanisms within declarative memory:
    http://m.brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/134/3/816.full

    Declarative memories in the brain:
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16407110/

    General about prediction, intereference and declarative memory:
    http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S089662730400529X
    http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/364/1521/1203.full.pdf
    http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Groups/NIPS/00papers-pub-on-web/KaliDayan.pdf

    Limbic system and episodic memory:
    http://www.oxcns.org/papers/531%20Rolls%202014%20Limbic%20systems.pdf

    Prefrontal cortex and semantics:
    http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0053699

    Read more:
    http://wondergressive.com/neocortex-how-human-memory-works/