EVERYDAY INTUITION

Human intuition is a complex, unexplored phenomenon.

Most people have felt the twinge of intuition at some point. The whisper in your head, the pang in the pit of your stomach, the inexplicable sense that a certain path should be avoided. Greenwood, the author of Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud, is interested in how intuition can be defined, the roots of it, and its development for positive ends. She describes herself as an intuitive rather than strictly rational person but notes that intuition is often derided in the modern world, especially because it is usually seen as a female trait. She believes that men can be equally intuitive, although they will often speak of a “gut feeling.” Greenwood details her own experiences and conducts a wide range of interviews in her examination. Some neuroscientists see intuition as a form of speeded-up logic, and there are those psychologists who view it as connected to buried issues and observations. It is not always clear where Greenwood is going with her discussion, and the chapters on using psychedelic drugs to enhance intuition and on how psychics can teach intuitive skills don’t quite fit with the book's investigative tone. Nevertheless, she makes some useful points about the value of intuition. Intuitive feelings should not be automatically dismissed because they do not meet the social paradigm of rationality, Greenwood says. “Stepping into intuition means giving up the illusion of certainty and confronting what is right now, or the immediate next,” she concludes.

Those interested in alternative ways of seeing the world will find an engaging read.