The stuff I'm talking about feels like snap judgements. I assume it's based on body language and such like, because the most dramatic effects have been people I've known online, where I suddenly have a different sense of them within a few hours of meeting them in person. But I can't point to evidence, I just have this feeling.
In the most dramatic example, I warned a close friend about her friendship with a person I'd just met in the flesh a few hours earlier (telling my friend I couldn't prove it, it was gut feeling). Over the next three months, the person proceeded to do exactly the kind of thing to my friend I was afraid they were capable of.
Because it doesn't match my usual way of knowing things all that closely, I tend to be careful with this stuff. But in fact it usually is quite valuable information even if I can't explain it, so I do tend to rely on it, even before I have evidence it's true.
So anyway, given my experience, it's not hard to imagine people who mostly gain knowledge through "just knowing but they can't explain", and particularly if it is the major way, or works well for them in some contexts, relying on it in other situations where it might not be a good idea.
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zvi
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-16 02:08 am (UTC)In the most dramatic example, I warned a close friend about her friendship with a person I'd just met in the flesh a few hours earlier (telling my friend I couldn't prove it, it was gut feeling). Over the next three months, the person proceeded to do exactly the kind of thing to my friend I was afraid they were capable of.
Because it doesn't match my usual way of knowing things all that closely, I tend to be careful with this stuff. But in fact it usually is quite valuable information even if I can't explain it, so I do tend to rely on it, even before I have evidence it's true.
So anyway, given my experience, it's not hard to imagine people who mostly gain knowledge through "just knowing but they can't explain", and particularly if it is the major way, or works well for them in some contexts, relying on it in other situations where it might not be a good idea.