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Lillian Skinner

How Intuitive Thinking Will Reshape Our Collapsing Systems


The systems are collapsing, and they deserve to do so. They have not served the majority of the people. But when systems collapse, those who have been repressed step up. They were repressed for a reason: they were smart and could lead. The oppressors have bled the systems dry; now it is time for those who were repressed to step forward and make things healthy again.

This is where infracognition comes into play. Often overlooked, infracognition is the subconscious, intuitive process that underlies our conscious thoughts and actions. While metacognition is “thinking about thinking,” infracognition is “thinking about feeling” — the cognitive processes that stem from and interact with our feelings and bodily sensations.


As a savant, my relationship with infracognition is closer than my relationship with metacognition. This isn’t due to clarity, but complexity. I need complexity. Those who lead with System 1 thinking — fast, automatic, and intuitive — are primed to take in everything and sort it out as they go. This big-picture thinking feeds detailed cognitive processes.


Contrary to popular belief, not everyone naturally operates with System 2 thinking — the slow, deliberate, and logical mode of thought. In fact, leading with System 2 is often not our inherent way of processing information. Rather, it’s a learned behavior, imposed by educational and societal systems that prioritize linear, analytical thinking over intuitive, holistic understanding. This forced prioritization of System 2 thinking can be detrimental to our natural cognitive abilities, especially for those with heightened infracognitive processes.


Research supports this perspective. Kahneman and Tversky’s seminal work on cognitive biases demonstrated how our intuitive System 1 thinking often guides our decisions, even when we believe we’re being purely logical. Gigerenzer and Brighton argued that heuristics — mental shortcuts associated with System 1 thinking — can lead to more accurate decisions than complex analysis in certain situations. Neuroscientific research by Lieberman et al. used fMRI studies to show that intuitive judgments activate different neural pathways than analytical thinking, suggesting these processes are fundamental to our cognitive makeup.


By forcing individuals to consistently override their natural System 1 processes in favor of System 2 thinking, our educational and professional systems may be stifling creativity, intuition, and the ability to process complex information holistically. This is particularly problematic for those with heightened infracognitive abilities, who may excel at rapid pattern recognition and intuitive understanding but struggle with the step-by-step analytical processes favored by traditional systems.


This is why our educational systems have failed me and countless others. It often felt like I was actively being worked against every moment of every day. It still feels this way in any group learning experience. However, I have learned so thoroughly how I learn that I now understand how everyone learns.


Every teacher, parent, therapist, and coach I ever had has held me back. I have paid them to teach or inform me inaccurately about how I move through the world. This is a hard pill to swallow. While they may have meant well, harm has been done. Atonement should be made to those who do not have the clarity or voice that I possess. They have not only held us back, suppressed us, and let us languish, but they have also actively destroyed the most creative people. Now, they need us, and we are broken.


But we are not lost. We have still learned. We have learned what others need to survive and thrive in this era. It has been our infracognition that has ensured we got an education that provided for us. It taught us how to parent our children, navigate liars and thieves, and recognize psychopathy. It has given us a warning system like no other. It has provided clarity on how we communicate, who our people are, and who we are meant to serve.


Infracognition encompasses deeper, often non-verbal or pre-verbal processes that inform our cognition. It involves the intricate interplay between our bodily sensations, emotions, and thoughts, often occurring below the threshold of conscious awareness. This “thinking about feeling” aspect of infracognition highlights its role in bridging our physical, emotional, and cognitive experiences.


As systems crumble, those of us who have been sidelined by traditional structures are poised to lead. Our infracognitive abilities — often misunderstood and suppressed — are precisely what’s needed to navigate the complexity of our changing world. We understand patterns intuitively, process information holistically, and can envision solutions that others miss.

It’s time for a paradigm shift. We need to recognize and nurture infracognitive abilities across the cognitive spectrum. This means reimagining education, rethinking workplace dynamics, and redefining what it means to be intelligent and capable.


The collapse of outdated systems is not an end, but a beginning. It’s an opportunity for those who have been marginalized to step into their power and reshape society in ways that serve everyone. Our infracognition — our ability to think deeply about feeling, to intuit complex patterns, to sense what others miss — is the key to building more equitable, sustainable, and thriving communities.

As we move forward, let’s embrace the power of infracognition. Let’s create spaces where all types of cognitive processes are valued and nurtured. It’s time for those who have been silenced to speak, for those who have been sidelined to lead. The world needs our unique perspectives, our intuitive understanding, our ability to see beyond the surface.

The systems are collapsing, yes. But from their ashes, we can build something better — if we have the courage to step forward and lead with all aspects of our cognition, especially those that have been long overlooked and undervalued.


References:

  • Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124–1131.

  • Gigerenzer, G., & Brighton, H. (2009). Homo heuristicus: Why biased minds make better inferences. Topics in Cognitive Science, 1(1), 107–143.

  • Lieberman, M. D., Jarcho, J. M., & Satpute, A. B. (2004). Evidence-based and intuition-based self-knowledge: an fMRI study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(4), 421–435.

  • Gifted ND. (2023). Novel theory: A new kind of cognition — infracognition.

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