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Fwd: the role of intuition/inspiration in Science

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Steve Smith

Fwd: the role of intuition/inspiration in Science

In support of one of my earlier rambles about the source and value/nature of intuition:

I submit this blog-entry on the Pirsig's reflections on the nature of "Truth" in science and subliminal/subconscious sources of intuition and inspiration and even analysis. "Zen and the Art of Science" written as a tribute to Pirsig after his death in 2017...

One of the most fruitful sources of hypotheses in science is mathematics, a discipline which consists of the creation of symbolic models of quantitative relationships. And yet, the nature of mathematical discovery is so mysterious that mathematicians themselves have compared their insights to mysticism. The great French mathematician Henri Poincare believed that the human mind worked subliminally on problems, and his work habit was to spend no more than two hours at a time working on mathematics. Poincare believed that his subconscious would continue working on problems while he conducted other activities, and indeed, many of his great discoveries occurred precisely when he was away from his desk. John von Neumann, one of the best mathematicians of the twentieth century, also believed in the subliminal mind. He would sometimes go to sleep with a mathematical problem on his mind and wake up in the middle of the night with a solution. The Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan was a Hindu mystic who believed that solutions were revealed to him in dreams by the goddess Namagiri.

I would like to submit that the above does NOT (IMO) answer the question of "other ways knowing", just more hidden (to the conscious process) methods of arriving at knowledge which is verifiable by independent and repeatable testing of the consequent hypotheses.

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thompnickson2

Re: Fwd: the role of intuition/inspiration in Science

Steve,

I have always thought of intuition as reasoning that I do that I cannot myself follow. Like, you-guys engage in a lot of reasoning that seems sort-of right and arrives at conclusions that seem sort-of right, but which I cannot myself follow. Well, I do that, too. That’s intuition.

Nick

Nicholas Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Ethology and Psychology

Clark University

[hidden email]

https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson/

From: Friam <[hidden email]> On Behalf Of Steven A Smith
Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2020 11:55 AM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <[hidden email]>
Subject: [FRIAM] Fwd: the role of intuition/inspiration in Science

In support of one of my earlier rambles about the source and value/nature of intuition:

One of the most fruitful sources of hypotheses in science is mathematics, a discipline which consists of the creation of symbolic models of quantitative relationships. And yet, the nature of mathematical discovery is so mysterious that mathematicians themselves have compared their insights to mysticism. The great French mathematician Henri Poincare believed that the human mind worked subliminally on problems, and his work habit was to spend no more than two hours at a time working on mathematics. Poincare believed that his subconscious would continue working on problems while he conducted other activities, and indeed, many of his great discoveries occurred precisely when he was away from his desk. John von Neumann, one of the best mathematicians of the twentieth century, also believed in the subliminal mind. He would sometimes go to sleep with a mathematical problem on his mind and wake up in the middle of the night with a solution. The Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan was a Hindu mystic who believed that solutions were revealed to him in dreams by the goddess Namagiri.