Intuition can appear to give information the facts alone fail to provide. But are these true flashes of insight into the deeper nature of a situation or a person’s character?
One problem with intuition is, like prediction, it’s impossible to know if it’s genuine until the truth is revealed. If you follow an intuitive dislike for someone to the point of avoiding them, you will never know whether or not they were trustworthy. If you retain a wariness about them, you could interpret their actions as suspicious although no actual harm has been done.
This is the other problem with intuition – it’s never completely clear what you are ‘picking up’ from the other person and what may be coming from within you. Forming an instant dislike can also result from their resembling someone you met in the past, or having encountered them at a moment when you were feeling vulnerable in some way. They may look, dress or act in a way that makes you feel worse in comparison.
Even body language can be deceptive. Failing to make eye contact, for example, is frequently misinterpreted as “shifty” when its far more likely to be shyness.
In saying this, some intuitions are based on subtle psychological observations. Without realizing it, you may have noticed small examples of inappropriate or contradictory behavior. But the ‘state versus trait’ dilemma exists for others, too. Unless you meet them again, you won’t know if what you saw came from their overall character or simply the mood they were in that day.
