Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Bergman compares intuition to throwing a spear and intellect to finding it. He distinguishes between the two processes.
In plain terms
Intuition acts first; intellect analyzes later.
What can you take from it?
Intuition and intellect serve different roles in creation.

Where it applies

  • problem solving
  • creative work
  • reflection

Putting it to work

  • balancing instinct with analysis
  • valuing both intuition and reason

Questions to consider

  • How do you balance instinct and analysis?
  • Which comes first for you?

Another view

The metaphor simplifies complex cognitive interactions.

More from Ingmar Bergman

  1. I handed the script to Svensk Filmindustri and they said 'No, thank you'. But then came the success with Smiles of a Summer Night and I got permission to make …

    Permalink to quote #57
  2. The Seventh Seal was always my favourite film, and I remember seeing it with a small audience at the old New Yorker Theatre. Who would have thought that the su…

    Permalink to quote #59
  3. I have a lot of tics and phobias. I hate to travel. I hate to go to festivals. I hate it when somebody gets close behind me. I'm scared of the darkness. I hate…

    Permalink to quote #56

Related quotes

  1. Great thoughts, great feelings came to them, Like instincts, unawares.

    Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton HoughtonRichard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton Houghton quote #2
  2. I write to discover what I think. After all, the bars aren't open that early.

    Daniel J. BoorstinDaniel J. Boorstin quote #3
  3. Like I say, the way I write songs is, you know, inspirational. I have to wait for it to happen. And when it happens I get lines, and I just write them down, yo…

    Van MorrisonVan Morrison quote #4