The Intuition Toolkit: Unlock Your Brain's Potential to Build Real Intuition and Make Better Decisions
By (Author) Joel Pearson
Simon & Schuster Australia
Simon & Schuster Australia
31st January 2024
Australia
Non Fiction
Paperback
240
Width 153mm, Height 216mm
Five easy rules for developing intuition, based on trailblazing research by a top Australian neuroscientist. Learn when its safe to rely on intuition in decision-making and when its not.
Intuition has saved lives and averted disasters, and it also lies behind countless innovative decisions. Steve Jobs, for one, regularly relied on his intuition in making business decisions at Apple.
Some people use intuition more readily than others but anyone can learn to develop and trust it. The key is ensuring that certain conditions are met so as to avoid the pitfalls. Neuroscientist Joel Pearson has identified five essential rules for using intuition, easily remembered by the acronym SMILE:
S: Self-awareness (Feeling emotional Don't trust your intuition) M: Mastery (Learn before you leap: why mastery matters for intuition) I: Impulses and Addiction (These are not intuition)
L: Low Probability (Dont use intuition for probabilistic judgments)
E: Environment (Use intuition only in familiar and predictable contexts)
In explaining these rules, Joel takes anecdotes from real life, including mountain climber Jon Muirs lifesaving decision; a gameshow that uses humans innate misunderstanding of probability to rig its prizes; why you should never go rock-climbing on a first date; and what happens when Usain Bolt races in low gravity. TheIntuition Toolkitis scientifically solid, highly readable and utterly fascinating.
Joel Pearson is a psychologist as well as a neuroscientist, and is the Director of Future Minds Lab at the University of New South Wales. He is also Head of Innovation & Enterprise in the School of Psychology at the same institution. He initially studied art and filmmaking at the College of Fine Arts, UNSW, before turning to the scientific mysteries of human consciousness and the complexities of the brain. He is a prolific public speaker and writer, having contributed chapters to several books and published numerous journal articles. Joels website is profjoelpearson.com.