Ronald W Dworkin at Aeon:
Several years ago, I left my medical practice for a long vacation. On the morning of my first day back, my alarm went off. I pushed the button in and, for a few minutes, lay with the light off. Then, one at a time, I lowered my feet to the floor. The slow process that would transform me back into an anaesthesiologist had begun.
But something was wrong. I felt uneasy about my ability to perform my duties as a physician. Some kind of inner harmony was gone. Before my vacation, I had enjoyed the pleasure of working along a single groove, endlessly repeating surgical cases with unwearied regularity, and making snap decisions with confidence. The unexpected had never really startled me, and, at times, I even hoped for something out of the ordinary. Now something was different – off. I was filled with doubt, born of I knew not where, to which I returned unceasingly. How was this possible? One day I was perfectly fine, and now, after just a few weeks away, confidence and sureness were gone. Simply put, I had lost my professional intuition. Although that explanation may seem imprecise, intuition is real, and, without it, experts lose their bearings. What had once seemed sure and certain for them becomes a question for enquiry.
Researchers have long recognised intuition’s relevance to professional judgment.
More here.
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