Intuition is Systems Thinking. Newton and Einstein Were Spiritual. More.
Intro
Recently, during a panel discussion at the University of Texas on the nuances of entrepreneurship, I encountered a thought-provoking question from the moderator. They were curious about how I incorporate systems thinking into my process of birthing new business ventures. I found myself at a loss for words because I hadn’t ever consciously applied systems thinking in the initial, creative stages of entrepreneurship. My approach has always been more instinctual, from the gut—or perhaps the heart, or maybe a blend of both. To satisfy investors (you can’t raise $60M without some data), I found data to support the gut feeling.
Intuition is subconscious pattern recognition that enables us to navigate complex and uncertain terrain with surprising efficacy. It's a non-analytical, unconscious mode of thinking, deeply rooted in our past experiences and the intricate patterns we've observed over time. This approach, reminiscent of how Steve Jobs envisioned and executed his ideas, might be seen as more biased than its analytical counterpart. And yet, despite its reliance on the subconscious, it's been the cornerstone of some of the most impressive companies in history; Reed Hastings at Netflix and Yvon Chinard at Patagonia, for example.
On the flip side, systems thinking offers a structured method to dissect and understand the intricate web of interactions within complex systems. It's about perceiving the whole rather than getting lost in the weeds—Bezos style. It encourages us to explore the interplay between different elements, crafting a holistic view, theoretically. This is also the approach used by Ray Dalio and Elon Musk, among countless others.
Although at first glance, intuition and systems thinking might appear poles apart, they share a common ground in their reliance on pattern recognition and the ability to connect seemingly disparate dots. Someone with a developed intuition, often without realizing it, taps into a deep understanding of systemic interactions and relationships to guide their decisions. It can probably be said that every invention starts with some sort of a gut feeling, and then that person chooses to either trust their gut and get going, like Jobs, or then apply systems thinking to really flesh it out.
Therefore, while systems thinking and intuitive thinking might follow different paths, they both lead to a similar destination: an insightful understanding of complex systems. In my journey, I've realized that intuitive thinking, in its subtle way, really embodies the essence of systems thinking, though with less conscious energy and potentially higher risk. It's about sensing the unseen connections and, more importantly, trusting that sixth sense. There’s a spectrum of thinking, with hyperrational on one end and intuitive on the other, but at neither end does the opposing pole totally disappear. There is always some combination of both happening.
A Scene Under the Apple Tree
Imagine Isaac Newton as a young thinker, sitting beneath the boughs of an apple tree doing nothing but contemplating, soon to birth the idea that revolutionized the way we understand the universe. The connection between the apples falling from the tree and the behavior of the celestial world became suddenly apparent. Newton's groundbreaking insights were less about empirical deduction and more about the profound leaps of intuition, bridging the gap between the observable world and unseen forces. To contemplate this way is a spiritual practice - even if the contemplator doesn’t believe in God (though Newton very much did) - and it is this sort of connection that strengthens our intuition. Spirituality is simply the act of connecting with nature (Einstein believed God and nature were the same thing, and he’d go sailing to find breakthroughs). Newton couldn’t have had the breakthrough he had if he hadn’t been engaged in that casual spiritual act of playful contemplation.
We think of Newton as a product of the Scientific Revolution, challenging the bedrock of Aristotelian thought and ushering in a new mechanistic view of the universe. But this binary view of history has screwed us by separating intuition and spirituality from logic and reason. It was more than observation that enabled Newton to sense the behavior of the cosmos, it was also an act of imagination and intuition, and the result of spiritual practice.
The Neuroscience of Insight
Years ago, after I recognized that I knew nothing about my own brain, I bought a bunch of books on the brain. Neuroscience, with its neural imaging and cognitive studies, reveals intuition as a sophisticated network of neurons and as a cognitive shortcut through the labyrinth of our minds (if you learn how to use it). It's in the prefrontal cortex where intuition and 'gut feelings' emerge, not merely as emotional impulses but as the culmination of complex, subconscious brain operations. These processes are our mental equivalents of Newton's apple—moments of insight connecting disparate dots across the neural universe of our knowledge and experience. The more connected we are to the natural world (the more mindful we are), the more likely we are to begin to recognize patterns. Furthermore, the more time we make for stillness (meditation, contemplation, etc.), then the more likely we are to become conscious of whatever patterns our brain is secretly recognizing.
Newton's story is a vivid illustration of the symbiotic relationship between intuition and analytical thought - the movement up and down the spectrum of thought. His initial intuitive grasp of gravitational forces, later substantiated by rigorous mathematical frameworks, exemplifies how our deepest insights often start as intuitive leaps. Intuition and rationality are not opposing forces but complementary facets of the human intellect, essential for the pursuit of knowledge and understanding.
We’ve become so data-driven that our analytical prowess too often dismisses our intuitive wisdom. Walt Disney was told by the analysts that his ideas would not work, but he didn’t care about the data. The same was true for Steve Jobs and for countless other great inventors, creators, and scientists.
Our world has a rhythm that can’t be heard if we’re always hiding from nature in a world built by rational thinking alone or by digital products. We need people to find silence, sit under apple trees, or go sailing (all spiritual practices) if we’re going to solve our big problems.
