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Quote 27 from:

McKenzie, C. and James, K. (2004) 'Aesthetics as an aid to understanding complex systems and decision judgement in operating complex systems' Emergence: Complexity and Organization, Special Double Issue 6 (1&2), p32-39 [online]. Available from: http://emergence.org/ECO_site/ECO_Archive/Issue_6_1-2/McKenzie_James.pdf; accessed on 23/04/05.

When we speak of visualizing or imagining or using our intuition we are speaking about activities which are not verbal. We talk of "calling up" images from the depths of our minds. These are forms of knowledge which are the precursors of verbal knowledge. There is a deep level of cognition where the images which we call up are formed in our preconscious. They are dependent upon our direct perception of the meaningfulness of our environment, the 'affordances', to use Gibson's term....

... In our efforts to understand the complexities of a chaotic world we admire intuition and imagination in problem solving. We admire creativity and we strongly desire to be creative ourselves..

...The nature of intuition is very badly understood. We agree that it exists, but what it is, is less well agreed. It is well described in the literature of the history of science as playing an important part in the great discoveries of mathematics and physics. It is sure that it is strongly linked to imagination and visioning. Mankind is a creative animal but most creative thinking has to be acquired and maintained in spite of and against academic instruction.

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