Uskonto

Janne Luotola

• 27.4.2012 klo 08:33

Analyyttinen ajattelu vie uskonnolta pohjan – intuitio joutuu romukoppaan

Ihminen joutuu tutkimuksen mukaan hylkäämään intuitiiviset oletukset, kuten uskonnolliset uskomukset, jos hän ajattelee analyyttisesti, kertoo Scientific American.

Rodinin Ajattelija

Intuitiivisesti ajattelevat ihmiset ovat todennäköisesti uskonnollisia, mutta kun he alkavat ajatella analyyttisesti, heidän uskomuksensa heikentyvät.

Terävän päättelyn ja kirkkaan intuition yhdistäminen on valttikortti työelämässä

Asta Raami

Tiina Alahuhta-Kasko

http://www.aalto.fi/fi/midcom-serveattachmentguid-1e4c66697f50d52c66611e48992db3bcb01db3fdb3f/doctoral_dissertation_asta_raami.pdf

On the application and

development of intuition

in the creative process

INTUITION UNLEASHED

Aalto University publication series! DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS 29/2015! School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Media! Aalto ARTS Books ! Helsinki, Finland !

© Asta Raami ! Graphic design: Maija Keskisaari ! Materials: Munken Pure 100g and 300g, Colorit (72) 80 g ! ISBN 978-952-60-6107-8 (printed) ! ISBN 978-952-60-6108-5 (pdf ) ! ISSN-L 1799-4934 ! ISSN 1799-4934 (printed) ! ISSN 1799-4942 (pdf ) ! Unigrafia ! Helsinki ! 2015 !

INTUITION UNLEASHED

Asta Raami

Media Lab

Department of Media

Aalto University

School of Arts, Design and Architecture

On the application

and development of intuition

in the creative process

LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS ! 8

ABSTRACT ! 10

TIIVISTELMÄ ! 11

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ! 13

FOREWORD ! 16

INTRODUCTION ! 19

Intuition in short !21

Modes of knowing related to intuiting ! 23

Framing of the study and the objectives in short ! 24

Foundations of the research ! 25

The structure of the thesis ! 25

" DESIGN # INTENSIVE AREAS AND INTUITING ! 28

The responsibility of designers and wicked problems ! 30

$ THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: INTUITIVE AND REASONING FACULTIES ! 35

Conscious and non-conscious faculties ! 36

The dual-process model of the mind ! 37

Utilizing the intuitive and reasoning faculties ! 38

Challenges in capturing the non-conscious ! 44

% THE CONCEPT OF INTUITION: THE AMBIGUITY OF THE PHENOMENON ! 47

3.1 Defining intuition ! 52

3.2 Intuition as a mode of knowing ! 55

From historical to current radical views ! 58

Professional expertise-based intuition ! 62

Alternative explanatory models of intuition ! 65

3.3 Factors and features of intuitive processing !72

Embodied knowledge and emotions ! 72

Visual perceiving ! 75

Empathy ! 78

Sensitivity ! 80

Extraordinary knowing ! 83

3.4 Conceptual and methodological challenges of working with intuition ! 86

Stigma attached to intuition ! 86

Scepticism, pseudo-scepticism and scientism ! 87

Missing vocabulary – hidden phenomena ! 89

Challenges in communicating intuitive information ! 90

Challenges in knowledge building ! 93

&INTUITION DEVELOPMENT ! 96

4.1 Intuition and creativity development in education ! 97

Environment-related support ! 98

Traditional design process models ! 100 Internal support !101

4.2 Methods used by highly intuitive individuals ! 103

Self-knowing and self-esteem ! 104

Evaluating the reliability of intuition ! 105

The act of perceiving ! 106

Attention, intention and non-attachment ! 109

4.3 Summing up the process of intuiting ! 112

!METHODOLOGY: DATA SETTING, DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS " 122

The objectives of the study and data setting " 124

Data collecting " 128

Data analysis " 129

Research composition " 132

Limitations of the study " 136

Utility vs validity " 137

#THE RESULTS: OPENING DOORS AND UNLEASHING INTUITION " 138

6.1 Designers’ ways of handling the challenge of creation " 139

Substitute activities " 142

False routines and superstitions " 144

Process belief and standard solutions " 145

Supporting activities " 146

6.2 Designers’ intuitive experiences " 148

Process of intuiting " 151

Designers’ highly personal experiences of intuition " 153

Sources and origins of intuition " 156

Group intuition " 159

6.3 Case: Global Dignity – Use of intentional intuition " 164

6.4 Developing designers’ intuitions " 166

The cornerstones of intuition coaching " 167

Supporting trust and acceptance " 170

Supporting the personal way of being and doing " 170

Developing perception skills " 171

Developing discernment skills " 173

The impact of a single intuition development course " 174

Intuition as a skill continuum " 177

Accuracy and reliability of intuition " 180

6.5 Guidelines for intuition development " 188

The shared responsibility of a teacher and a student " 191

7 Discussion and conclusions " 195

Study conclusions " 200

1. Intuitive experiences are very personal and the ways of intuiting vary " 200

2. Intuitive experiences need legitimization " 201

3. Intuition is a continuum and it can be developed " 202

4. Development of intuitive skills can be supported " 203

5. Using intuition may bring exceptional outcomes " 205

6. Methods exist for evaluating the reliability of intuitive information " 205

APPENDIX " 207

REFERENCES " 208

THE ARTICLES " 221–291

GLOSSARY " 292

LIST OF ORIGINAL

PUBLICATIONS

I INTUITION COACHING OF TEACHERS

Raami, A.

(2013) Experiences on Developing

Intuitive Thinking among University- level

Teachers (EKSIG 2013 Conference, DRS

Design Research Society’s Special Interest

Groups on Experiential Knowledge “Knowing

Inside Out - experiential knowledge, expertise

and connoisseurship”. UK, Loughborough

University 4-5.7. 2013) ○ 221

II INTUITION COACHING OF STUDENTS

Raami, A., & Mielonen, S.

(2011): Kokemuksia intuitiovalmennuksesta – Intuition

implisiittisestä oppimisesta kohti tietoista

kehittämistä. Aikuiskasvatus, 31(4), 167–174.

(Experiences on Intuition Coaching – From

Implicit Learning towards Intentional

Development of Intuition) ○ 235

III THE ROLE OF INTUITION IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS

Raami, A., Mielonen, S., & Keinänen, M.

(2010). Designers’ Experiences of Intuition:

Coaching Intuitive Skills as part of Creative

Design Process. Melbourne, Cumulus Working

Papers. Publication series G. Aalto University,

School of Art and Design, 52-57 ○ 255

V HIGHLY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES OF INTUITION

Mielonen, S., Raami, A., Keinänen, M., Rouhiainen, L.

(2009): Designer’s Highly

Personal Experiences of Intuition Modeling

for Developing Intuition. IASDR Conference

Electronic Proceedings. Seoul, South Korea

18-22 October ○ 265

V GROUP INTUITION – A CASE STUDY

Raami, Asta; Celen, Riia, & Puntila, Päivi

(2008). A case study of intuition and design:

Building a tool for parents of premature babies

and the nursing staff who care for them.

In: Undisciplined! Design Research Society

Conference 2008, Sheffield Hallam University,

Sheffield, UK, 16-19 July 2008 ○ 277

A HUGE UNTAPPED POTENTIAL OF THE HUMAN MIND IS REACHABLE THROUGH AN INTENTIONAL USE OF INTUITING.

10 Intuition Unleashed Abstract

ABSTRACT

Intuition is often described as being one of the most important tools of creation among designers, artists and researchers. It is an integral part of human thinking and,together with reasoning faculties,it forms the basis of thinking.Even in every-day life individuals need intuitive faculties, but in complex cognitive tasks, such as visioning, creating and problem solving, the role of intuition is fundamental.

Even though intuition is superior to conscious reasoning in some specific situations, these different modes of thinking can often be best utilized when combined.

Both reasoning and intuitive faculties need exercising and practice “in order to fully exploit their potential. However, formal education and even design studies are strongly based on the development of reasoning faculties and intuition is ignored, hence its potential is lost. Even if intuition is used, the argumentation has to be based on rationalization.

This study concerns intuitive processing and the related pedagogy as researched through the experiences of designers and people frequently relying on their intuition.

The data were collected from intuition coaching courses, interviews with desig-ners and highly intuitive persons, and include my own experience as a teacher and a designer. The data include designers’ descriptions of their intuitive expe-riences, the ways that they understand and utilize intuition, as well as their thoughts on developing intuition further.

The outcomes reveal that highly intuitive personal experiences are usually extre-mely meaningful to the person concerned and that they have an essential role when creating. Yet they are kept private due to the common tendency to hide and deny intuition.

The outcomes suggest that bringing these experiences into consciousness, and especially sharing them with others, helps an individual to build a deeper under-standing of the personal creative process. As a result, it also strengthens profes-sional expertise and personal self-esteem. THe data strongly support the current understanding that intuition is a continuum that can be developed. One of my main interests was researching if intuition can be developed with coaching, or even along the direction of an intentional tool.

This means that intuition is not just random coincidence or emotion based on an arbitrary vibe. If using intuition as an intentional tool, its accuracy and reliability need to be examined. Even though these aspects are changing to evaluate, the outcomes based on designers’ experiences suggest that there is the possibility

of such an evaluation. Hence, I have coected and developed practical applications that may help in intuition development.

Keywords:

Intuition, creativity, design, learning, experience, higher education, coaching, development

11 Intuition Unleashed Tiivistelmä

TIIVISTELMÄ

Useat suunnittelijat, taiteilijat ja tutkijat kuvaavat intuition käytön olevan yksi tärkeimmistä luovan prosessin työvälineistään. Intuitio on eroamaton osa ihmi-sen ajaelua ja yhdessä rationaalisen ajattelun kanssa se muodostaa ajattelun perustan. Jokapäiväisessä elämässä ja arkitoiminnoissa kaikki ihmiset tarvitse-vat näitä molempia ajattelun muotoja, mutta monimutkaisissa kognitiivisissa toiminnoissa kuten visioinnissa, luomisessa ja ongelmanratkaisussa intuition rooli korostuu. Tietyissä tilanteissa intuition on todettu tuottavan ylivertaisia tuloksia tietoiseen päättelyyn verrattuna, mutta usein parhaimmat tulokset syntyvät näitä kahta ajattelun muotoa yhdistämällä.

Sekä intuitiivinen että rationaalinen ajattelu tarvitsevat harjoitusta, jotta niiden potentiaalia voi hyödyntää. Kuitenkin virallinen kouluopetus tähtää rationaalisen ajattelun kehittämiseen, samaa kun intuition harjoittaminen sivuutetaan ja sen potentiaali hukataan. Jos intuitiota käyttää, niin perustelut pitää pystyä esittä-mään tietoisen päättelyn tuloksina. Työni tavoitteena on ollut tutkia intuitiota ja sen kehittämistä suunnittelijoiden ja runsaasti intuitiota käyttävien henkilöiden kokemusten kautta. Aineisto on kerätty intuitiovalmennuksen kursseilta sekä suunnittelijoita että intuitiivisia ihmisiä haastattelemalla. Lisämateriaalina olen käyänyt omia kokemuksiani opettajana ja suunnittelijana. Aineisto sisältää suunnielijoiden kuvauksia heidän henkilökohtaisista intuition kokemuksistaan ja oman intuitionsa luonteesta sekä näkemyksiä oman intuition kehittämisestä.

Tulosten mukaan erityislaatuiset ja hyvin henkilökohtaiset intuition kokemukset ovat erittäin merkityksellisiä kokijalleen ja niillä on tärkeä rooli luomisessa. Näitä kokemuksia ei yleensä jaeta muiden kanssa vaan ne pidetään yksityisenä tietona, siiä kulttuurissamme on varsin yleistä piilottaa ja kieltää intuition käyt-tö. Tutkimuksen tulokset viittaavat siihen, että tuomalla nämä erityislaatuiset kokemukset osaksi tietoista ymmärrystä, ja erityisesti keskustelemalla ja jakamalla kokemuksia muiden kanssa, kokija voi rakentaa syvempää ymmär-rystä omasta luovasta prosessistaan. Samalla vahvistuu myös oma ammatillinen asiantuntijuus ja itsetuntemus.

Tutkimuksen tulokset vahvistavat vallitsevaa käsitystä intuitiosta jonkinlaisena kehiteltävänä kykynä tai ominaisuutena. Yksi kiinnostukseni kohteista on ollut tutkia voiko intuitiota kehittää valmentamalla, ja voiko intuitiota käyttää tah-donvaraisena työkaluna,jolloin intuitio ei olisi vain sattumanvarainen tapahtuma tai tunnepohjaista toimintaa. Jos intuitiota käytetään tietoisena työkaluna, pitää intuition oikeellisuutta ja luotettavuutta pystyä arvioimaan. Vaikka näitä ominai-suuksia on hyvin vaikea arvioida, suunnittelijoiden kokemuksiin perustuvat tu-lokset viittaavat mahdollisuuteen intuitiivisen tiedon luotettavuuden arvioinnis-ta. Näiden pohjalta olen koonnut yhteen ja kehittänyt käytännön applikaatioita, jotka voivat auttaa sekä intuition kehittämisessä että intuitiivisen tiedon luotettavuuden arvioimisessa.

Avainsanat: Intuitio, luovuus, design, oppiminen, kokemus, korkeakoulutus, valmennus,

kehittäminen

Like all works, this study is an outcome of shared expertise and

knowledge construction. There are many individuals whom I want to warmly thank for helping me along this journey.

First of all, my deepest gratitude goes to my advisors, Professor

Dominique Surel and Professor Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, for your encouragement and advice. Thank you, Dominique, for broadening my mental horizon and introducing me to various aspects of intuition.

Thank you Pirita, you have you have sparred and helped me since the 1990s with your wise, incisive and valuable advice. Your precious help has guided me to compile the interdisciplinary area of the work.

A warm thank you to Professor Lily Díaz for believing in me and in this topic during all these years. Thank you for all your support and reassurance.

Thank you also Professor Philip Dean for a showing me to teach and research creativity and intuition for several years.

Heartfelt thanks Professor Marja-Liisa Honkasalo for evaluating my work. I have been privileged to learn from your deep wisdom in the areas of research and human experience.

I am grateful to my evaluator and opponent, Professor Emeritus Charles Burnette. Thank you for sharing your expertise and asking me to model my understanding of intuiting and to teach intuition; without you I would not have included them in my study.

Thank you Professor Emeritus Jorma Enkenberg for accepting the invitation to be an other of my opponents.

Above all, my warmest thank you to my colleague Samu Mielonen.

I have been privileged to dive into the wonderland of intuition and to

work with you all these years. Your support and encouragement have

been limitless – without them I would have given up many times.

My sincere thanks William H. Kautz, you have greatly inspired and helped me with your robust expertise and supportive advice.

Thank you for your comments, discussions and advice Professors Katherine N. Hayles, Harold G. Nelson, Lauri Järvilehto, Pekka

Himanen, Esa Saarinen, Kai Hakkarainen, Markus Sundblom, Kari

Kivistö, Tony Dunderfelt and Mikael Saarinen.

My deepest thank you for the discussions related to the processes of intuiting and sharing your unique experiences on intuition Siw Backas, Riia Celen, Didi Ananda Gunamrta, Anne Lakanen, Miia Tervo, Meiju Niskala, Mikko Pykäri, Kristian Aro, Marika Borg, Aki Hovivuori, Mika Tuomola, Marjo Urbanski, Terhi Takala and Carita Pihlman. Thank you also for your support and encouragement.

Special thanks to all the creativity and intuition coaching students

over the past number of years. Thank you for your courage in sharing your internal and private experiences.

I am grateful to the Academy of Finland and Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture who funded my research.

Thank you Mia Keinänen for the inspiring discussions and shared time researching intuition and Leena Rouhiainen for guiding and administrating the project.

Thank you Päivi Puntila and A Different Journey team for a shared transformational journey.

Thank you co-students in the Department of Media and Aalto University staff for various types of help and support. Special thanks Anu Yanar and the whole BE group for being co- co-wanderers on the journey to internal courage.

My warmest thanks to Pia Lappalainen, Leena Mikkola, Taru Vaarala and Johannes Raami for the generous support and consultation in language issues.

Thank you Regina McGarrigle and Ann Sarsfeld for the language polish, your help has been irreplaceable.

Thank you Maija Keskisaari for the perfect and beautiful book design.

I am grateful to a my teachers, both past and present.

Thank you to all those precious people who spurred me on and helped me in various ways.

Thank you friends and numerous anonymous people for sharing your experiences of intuition and encouraging me to continue my work, especially during the rough times when you gave me the strength to continue. I want to include in my thanks also those individuals who were somewhat disparaging and sceptical about my work and intuition; this helped me to reshape my arguments, select better terms and sharpen my thoughts.

Finally, I thank my dear family for all their support and eternal patience, my husband, my mom, my sister, my deceased dad and

especially my children who have opened my eyes to experience extraordinary intuitions during the past teen years.

16 Intuition Unleashed Foreword

FOREWORD

A friend of mine, all! lm director, described how, once, when she

came home from work, she threw herself down on the hallway door,

with her jacket still on, and cried, because creative work was so oppressive. Her husband looked at her and asked whether she was sure she wanted to do such work for the rest of her life. For her, there was no other choice, since she had her heart set on this work.

This is not a rare story among designers doing work connected to feelings of deep meaningfulness and humanity. Often, as in this case, these same individuals are extremely talented, they are well respected by their peers, they have enthusiasm for their work, and, through their design, they have so much to give to other people. My experience is that with such struggling and mental distress, connec-ted with the challenge of creating, design students often feel alone.

On top of the emotional stress, many designers have highly personal experiences of intuition.Facing these ambiguous or unexplainable ex- periences, while keeping them hidden, creates anxiety too. Over the past few years,as a teacher of creative process development, I have heard many stories of intuitive experiences. Some of these have opened my eyes while others have even challenged my perso-nal world view. While researching intuition, a growing number of people have approached me, saying “I did not want to tell this in front of the others,but with you I can share my experience” or “I can tell you, but let’s shut the door first”.Without my own extraordinary personal experiences, I woul  not have been able to openly listen, accept or understand these stories.

The driving force in my research has been the desire to help those

individuals who struggle with the process of creation. Usually this

includes encountering and understanding oneself, as well as opening up to the process of intuiting. All designers I have researched have experiences of intuition and some of these happen to be extraordinary by nature.

The common tendency to keep these experiences private and hidden causes unnecessary individual suffering, especially for those who are already well capable of utilizing intuition during the creative process.

Therefore, it is important to bring all forms of intuition to the fore as an equal component with conscious reasoning.There is an increasing interest in the topics related to intuition and human consciousness both among the public and researchers.

In April 2014, I had the opportunity to discuss intuition with the Mille-nnium Technology Prize winner,Stuart Parkin,and I asked him about its role with regard to his technical invention.He answered: Intuition is everything! To him, intuition guides towards new possibilities, high- lights the importance of ideas and identifies the way to new solutions. In 2014, there were at least two petitions published in res-pected international journals calling for an open study of all aspects of consciousness, including unexplainable and extraordinary experi- ences, and signed by more than 200 world-famous researchers.

In order to research the area of intuition and to develop a wider

understanding of intuitive experiences or even to demystify them, I

have been forced to widen my own perspective. I have oriented my-self to different fields of science and diversity of sources, including also areas on the margins of the scientic field. Combining various perspectives has been essential when approaching or trying to understand varying intuitive experiences. Hence, the research has taken a long time.

18 Intuition Unleashed Foreword

At the same time,it has become more apparent that truth-loving re- search is far from easy. The challenge does not lie only in the diffi- culty in having ambiguous intuitive experiences and in the struggle to verbalize them and make them understandable. It is equally hard to face the academic power play, stagnation, dogma belief or mental rigidity – issues often invisible and optimally excluded from research.

Therefore, I am grateful to those students, colleagues, friends and strangers who have shared their intuitive experiences with me and who have continued to encourage me by underlining the importance of making the area visible and bringing it into the public domain.

The most important reason for researching intuition is because of its potential. Intuition is a superior way of acquiring information in some situations and its capacity is enormous. Further, recent research outcomes underline that there are forms of knowing we do not yet understand and hidden potential we do not utilize. All this shakes the very foundations of knowing – what can be known and how.

The world now faces challenges that are greater and more complex than ever before. Time is running out to resolve some of these

problems. In order to understand or solve these problems, reasoning

and analysis are simply not enough. We need intuition to exceed the

limits of the known and to look for new frontiers. Often, the best results are achieved when both reasoning and intuition are integrated.

While the current understanding states that reasoning is dependent

on the work of intuition, my study states that this process can be reversed. Intuition can be used intentionally to acquire information –

in the best case, any kind of information. To this end, designers have

an important shared role.

Helsinki 28th January 2015

Asta Raami

19 Intuition Unleashed Introduction

INTRODUCTION

This work handles designers’ personal experiences of intuitive processing and the related pedagogy, as researched through the experiences of designers and those people who frequently rely on their intuition.

The research is based on five peer-reviewed articles and a case study that reveals one personal design experience. Each of the articles outlines a specific aspect of de-signers’ intuitions.  The research data were collected from intuition coaching courses, interviews with professional designers and highly intuitive individuals, and include my personal experiences as a teacher and a designer. The data were collected and handled qualitatively using a phenomeno-graphical research method.

This thesis is divided into two sections. The  first section of the introduction examines the theoretical background and the concept of intuition in general, presenting current scientific understanding on the issue. The remainder of the introduction focuses on experiences of intuition based on my research with designers and people who use a lot of intuition.

20 Intuition Unleashed Introduction

The perspective of the work is phenomenon based. The multifaceted phenomena of intuition require the integration of various domains and perspectives. The work sear-ches for a shared discussion between different fields of design, as well as between design and other scientific domains in the area of intuition. Since the area of intuition is insufficiently researched in the area of design, I have elaborated the concept of in-tuition for the purpose of increasing an understanding of the designer’s intuitive ex-periences. Therefore,the introduction approaches intuition from a wide angle, where intuition is put into perspective with creativity, cognition, knowledge, perception, con-sciousness, as well as with emotions, embodied cognition and empathy. With this ap-proach, the work aims at building as versatile as possible an understanding of desig-ners’ intuitions. I have also found it beneficial to present some cutting-edge scientific results in order to make extraordinary experiences of intuition more understandable and natural. Further, I look at the difficulties and effects of active intuiting among people who use intuition as a central part of their creative process.

Currently, even though intuition is still commonly considered an untrustworthy type of information, the topic of intuition has raised increasing interest in the area of scientific research. The combination of intuitive and rational faculties can no longer be dis-missed as irrelevant, purely mystical or anachronistic in the current age, but is inter-twined in various types of thinking in different fields of research (Anthony,2003;Shefy & Sadler-Smith, 2004). Further, numerous internationally known scientists from vari-ous fields (biology,neuroscience, psychology, medicine and psychiatry) have written a on the importance of the post-materialistic scientific approach, including research on the subjective dimensions of the human experience (Beauregard et al., 2014).

These scholars underline that the strictly materialistic ideology of science implies that “the mind is nothing but the physical activity of the brain and that our thoughts cannot have any effect upon our brains and bodies, our actions, and the physical world. The ideology of scientic materialism became dominant in academia during the 20th cen-tury. So dominant that the majority of scientists started to believe that it was based on established empirical evidence and represented the only ra-tional view of the world” (Beauregard et al., 2014, p. 272). Therefore, it is essential that advances occur in the scientific study of the mind and spirituality.

21 Intuition Unleashed Introduction

Indeed,the area of open-minded consciousness research has now been identified as a high priority by numerous accredited scholars;another petition signed by more than 100 world-famous researchers from various scientific domains cas for an open study of all aspects of consciousness, including unexplainable and extraordinary experiences (Cardeña, 2014).

Intuition in short

Intuition is an integral part of human thinking (Kahneman,2011;Kahneman& Tversky, 1982). Every human is intuitive, whether or not a person is aware of it, since the nature of the human brain is inherently intuitive (Laughlin, 1997). All humans conti-nuously use intuition in their everyday life, but intuitive processing is usually subliminal and random. Typically,intuition is intertwined with conscious reasoning and these two different thinking modalities form the foundation of all human thinking (Kahneman, 2011; Kahneman&Tversky,1982). In addition, human decision making is often based on these intuitive non-conscious processes, such as associations, affections, habits, memory and feelings,for example liking or disliking (Glöckner & Witteman, 2010). Yet people prefer to give the impression that decisions are based on pure conscious reasoning.

The role of intuition is imperative in radical breakthrough innovations and in creative ideas involving extreme novelty. Many Nobel laureates mention that intuition is the pri- mary thinking mode used for discoveries while conscious reasoning is used for argumentation (Keller, 1983; Larsson, 2001; Marton, 1997; Shavinina, 2003, 2009).
The role of intuition has been acknowledged also in other areas, for example in ma-thematics, business and linguistics (Agor,1989;Bastick,2003; Bunge,1962; Fischbein, 1987). According to linguistics, language is not transparent but opaque, since it ope-rates partly outside of one’s awareness (Hassin, Uleman,& Bargh,2005). Further, “a consistent system of reasoning cannot be sufficient to reason about reason. Intuition is needed to guide the blind steps of logic and give purpose to this direction” (Bastick, 2003 p.3).

22 Intuition Unleashed Introduction

Currently, intuition is used as a common label for completely different types of infor-mation, varying processes and diverse outcomes, all of which makes the use of the term diffcult. In addition, there is a lack of a shared vocabulary and coherent con-cepts, which makes intuition research challenging (Glöckner&Wieman, 2010). There- fore, I have handled the concept of intuition in a very detailed manner and I have included a glossary to inform on the terms used.

Currently, there is not enough knowledge on how intuition is constructed or how it can be best developed. The overview of intuition and creativity development is handled in the literature by intertwining traditional knowledge forms and non-traditio-nal scientific research as well as writings of highly intuitive practitioners. In the area of design research, there is a dearth of research or references specically connected with intuition development or the pedagogy behind it. Therefore, I have widened my scope to include references from other domains and I present methods used by highly intuitive individuals.

Currently, intuition has such a cultural stigma that it is not possible to include it as an equal thinking component alongside conscious reasoning. The reasons for this may lie partly in the diffculty in articulating and researching non-conscious processes, or in the ambiguity of the phenomenon itself. (Glöckner & Witteman, 2010; Mayer, 2007; Tart, 2009) In order to illustrate both the importance of and the diffculty in describing intuitive experiences, I have included a generous selection of examples describing intuitive experiences by Nobel laureates, since they clarify some essential aspects related to the processes of creating and inventing.

Formal education usually focuses firmly on the development of reasoning faculties, although the importance of intuition has been recognized for decades (Bastick, 2003). In particular, if creative thinking needs to be promoted, intuitive thinking skills need to be recognized and exercised (R. Root-Bernstein & Root-Bernstein, 2003). Of course the teaching of arts and crafts is versatile; nevertheless intuition is not systemically and intentionaity included as part of the artistic thinking process and its development. Intuition is considered something minor, random, biased and, in some areas of education, even harmful. In the best cases, intuitive skills may develop unaided alongside other education. In the worst case, the lack of use may lead to the dwindling of such skills, just as can happen to biological senses (Sheldrake, 2012).

26 Intuition Unleashed Introduction

In both of these cases, the potential of intuition is ignored and lost. This is alarming, since, in some specific situations, intuition is superior to conscious reasoning and brings better results (Gigerenzer, 2007; Klein, 1998).

Some forms of intuition are prone to bias (Kahneman & Tversky,1982), but this is not the whole truth. It is arguable that some of the results of intuition can be evalua-ted for their reliability and accuracy, intuition can be used intentionally, or it can even give exact and detailed information (Davis-Floyd & Davis, 1997; Dunne, 1997; Kautz,
2005; Monsay, 1997; Shefy & Sadler-Smith, 2004; Targ, 2012). However, intuitive processing needs to be practised, developed and used intentionally – just like con-scious reasoning and analytical thinking – to result in more reliable outcomes (Davis-Floyd & Davis, 1997; Monsay, 1997; Shefy & Sadler-Smith, 2004). The current re-search strongly suggests that intuitive skills can be developed (Hogarth, 2001; Kautz, 2005; Seligman & Kahana, 2009; Shefy&Sadler-Smith,2004). In an optimal situation, intuition and conscious reasoning can be utilized as equal components of thinking and decisions can be made based on the most useful and applicable information. Including intuition development as part of design education would support educating multi-talented design experts who are capable of versatile thinking and solving problems seemingly impossible based on rational analysis alone.

Modes of knowing related to intuiting

In this study, I present intuition as a mode of knowing. I approach the experiences of designers’ intuitions from two perspectives: from a practical grass-roots aspect and from a theoretical aspect. The theoretical component presented in the beginning lays the foundation for understanding the intimate intuitive experiences described in the results. The emphasis is on real and concrete experiences, in their authentic form.

Many designers have very personal intuitive experiences that are often reported as forming the centre of the creative process (Mäkelä & Numkulrat, 2011; Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Laamanen, Viitala, & Mäkelä, 2013; Uusikylä, 2008). This makes reflection on intuition and other internal processes extremely meaningful.

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According to the student-centred, constructivist approach to learning, understanding and integrating, the student’s personal perspective is essential for any meaningful learning experience (Bruner, 1960, 1986; Gardner, 1991; Rogers, 1980; Rogers & Freiberg, 1994). However,due to the nature and diffculty in verbalizing intuitive expe- riences,these personal experiences are often not researched at a more general level
(Petitmengin-Peugeot, 1999).

Framing of the study and the objectives in short

The research has two objectives, which are:

1) To research designers’ intuitive experiences and their intuitive processing as a mode of knowing, and
2) To determine whether intuition can be developed through coaching.

The research is based on data collected from intuition coaching courses and inter-views with designers. I researched how designers describe their intuition and how they verbalize their personal intuitive experiences. I collected accounts of designers’ personal intuitive experiences, including highly personal and extraordinary experien-ces that are seldom talked about. I also interviewed some very intuitive individuals in order to build a more coherent understanding of the processes of intuiting.

My main focus is to build an understanding of how designers can better connect with their intuition in order to utilize and develop its potential. On a practical level, this means researching whether intuition can be used as an intentional tool,which means that intuition is not just a random emotional-based coincidence but instead an inten-tional process where a person can attune to the intuitive information. Due to my per-sonal interest in intuition development,I researched those natural, innate, personal ways of intuiting that designers use. Further, I studied whether a single course on intuition development can help a person to better connect with their intuition, and if intuitive skills can be developed through coaching.

The overall objectives and the specific objectives researched within each article are summed up in the methodology section. Based onthis experience, I have developed a working model of intuition as a skill continuum, presented methods for evaluating the reliability of intuition, as well as outlined guidelines for intuition development.
These are presented at the end of the introductory section.

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Foundations of the research

The foundations for this research lie in a research project – Intuition in Creative Processes – carried out during 2008–2012 and funded by the Academy of Finland. During that time, I worked closely with my coeague Samu Mielonen and we spent countless hours orienting ourselves to the topic, which was at that time still on the periphery of research here in Finland. One of the major problems we faced was the lack of sufficient terminology and concepts in the area of intuition. The term “intuition” was used confusingly, labelling different phenomena, varying processes and diverse outcomes. At the same time, there was a lack of proper terms describing the intui-tive experiences and the process of intuiting. Some of the essential components of designers’ intuitions – such as extraordinary expe-riences – were not even acknowledged by the current psychology as being worthwhile areas for descriptive study. This led to a situation where the prevailing terminology was inadequate. The focus of our research work was designers’ personal creative processes; hence we had to prioritize the authentic experiences described by designers and start to search for new words and terms to describe this area. In situations where we could not find proper terms to explain intuitive experiences, we started to search for descriptions of similar expe-riences outside of the traditional scientific field. Therefore, we ended up using references outside of academic peer-reviewed publications, both in coaching and in peer-reviewed articles. "The focus of the work is on the utility of intuition among designers – instead of on its validity – such as assessing what defines “real” or “true” intuition and what specific type of intuition is used by designers.

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The structure of the thesis

The thesis starts with the presentation of background theories dea-ling with the different qualities of intuitive and reasoning faculties, as well as opening up the concept of intuition. I have included some al- ternative explanatory models of intuition presented in the literature, since they were used as part of coaching sessions and many design students have found them useful.Even though these models may not be considered as being scientific truths, they seem to have an impor-tant and justifiable role for some designers when searching for a deeper understanding of their personal intuiting process.

The text continues by revealing the challenges of working with intui-tion, including the lack of a shared vocabulary and the influence of cultural stigma. The ambiguity of the concept of intuition is handled through different forms of knowing related to the process of intui-ting. All these forms of knowing have been reported over and over again in the designers’ descriptions of their intuitive experiences.

Data setting,data collecting and data analysis are handled briefly, as most of the research data have already been dealt with in the articles. The results are presented and reflected on in great detail, since it was not possible to discuss the research data in such depth in the articles. Further, when observing all the data, they seem to integrate and form a new continuum, which is not obvious from the individual articles. The articles other a narrower and more focused overview of individual cases. To be able to approach, scrutinize and illustrate this continuum, I needed to include even some original descriptions of intuitive experiences. Further, I needed to reflect these through the theoretical background outside the domain of design research. Therefore, the very beginning of the thesis looks at the concept of intuition at a detailed level.

An issue that constantly caught myll intention and that nay became apparent during the intuition coaching courses was the challenge of how to approach the process of creation. In particular, some design students felt the internal pressure to partake in the act of creation so overwhelming that I wanted to pay special attention to this issue and discuss it.

The intuitive experiences, some of which were also mentioned in the articles, are often included in this text as original quotations. This allowed me to reinforce the essence of the intuiting process at a level of detail that was not possible in the articles.

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Further, it seemed to be the only way to illustrate the original expe-riences in as authentic a form as possible, without the biasing effect of explanations and interpretations. At the same time, it allows the reader to make their own interpretations and conclusions of the material. I felt more comfortable including the authentic experiences than using and referring to an artificial or false framework – even if it causes some repetition and overlapping with the articles.

The cornerstones of intuition development and the exercises used in coaching sessions are examined here in more depth than in the articles. However, the concrete intuition development exercises at a detailed level are not presented, since they were not the objectives of the study and they were always customized for the group and the special needs of the individuals.

I also present some preliminary ideas on how the accuracy and

reliability of intuition can be evaluated. These aspects were also not

the objectives of the study but through the discussions and interviews with some designers and highly intuitive individuals they became apparent. Further, these aspects turned out to be of great importance while elaborating on the process of intuiting.

Based on these aforementioned objectives and aspects,this research aims to build an understanding of designers’ intuitions and the peda-gogy related to intuition development. In general, the work aims  at making intuitive processing more acceptable and legitimate. This includes making the highly personal and extraordinary experiences of intuition more visible and acceptable, which may help designers, design students, educators and other individuals to build  an under-standing of intuition and its potential. In an optimal situation, the work is able to support and build an understanding of the creative design process of designers and help to develop design education in general.

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