The unconscious succeeds where the conscious fails

June 11, 2010

Do you trust the fabulous powerpoint presentation and the glowing numbers from the management consultants showing the potential profits of a new innovation they have dreamed up... or do you trust your intuition that the path leads elsewhere?

Studies have shown explicit, analytical thought can be more powerful and less vulnerable to biases than intuitive thought. For example, holding a workshop to ensure that all attendees avoid Group Think and other cultural and personal biases by following a formal process for innovation can be extremely valuable. However, several studies have shown that holistic, intuitive processes can outperform analysis. Recent research in the journal Consciousness and Cognition confirms that the unconscious mind can solve problems that the conscious mind has failed to solve.

What is more, the A-ha! moment that comes from this intuitive, non-conscious way of problem-solving is very different from that of its linear cousin. In fMRI images light up in different parts of the brain as our style of creativity shifts from linear analysis to intuitive magic.