Well, ANYONE can chime in on this, I am curious to know what others think (men and women). My thoughts are thus. Men are more intuitive than we are given credit for. They are just intuitive about different things. But let's look at the Wikipedia. for Intuition - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intuition - (Intuition (knowledge) - understanding without apparent effort, quick and ready insight seemingly independent of previous experiences or empirical knowledge.). Suffice it to say that IN GENERAL women are thought to be MORE intuitive about relational things, domestic things, medicinal things, pediatric things, etc. Men tend to be more intuitive in things regarding business, strategy, competition, goals, sports, beer, and sleep. Okay that was a slam. But you get my point. Of course there is then a sliding scale for all men a women, based on personality and upbringing (nature/nurture). It may be the case that you are indeed more intuitive relationally then, say, Dr. House. But you may not be as far along as Slim Goodbody.

Regardless, here's the jist. You probably are insensitive and MORE aware of your wife's shortcomings than your own. And hence intuitively oblivious. You may be CORRECT in a given situation, but probably not RIGHT in your disposition. The place to start is with the MAN in the Mirror (ooooooooyeaaaah!). Actually, you probably need a dose of some heavy duty Truth (Eph. 5-6) to get you over that hump. Then start the apologization process.

Likewise your wife probably needs to own up to the fact that you are just plain wired differently and she can point it out and you all could argue about it until Jesus comes on the clouds or longer. Or she could just own up to having a husband who is a great musician, funny, crazy, creative, hairy (in some places), and shaped like a rocketship, but weaker in the finer art of relational mind-reading. See if she could either A. Tell you in clear and present language what she needs/wants from you so you don't have to guess OR B. Write down in periodic letters what she feels you need to know, but aren't understanding. This process alone will make for a more productive sex life. I Guarontee.

I tend to think of the most common usage of the word "intuitive" being understanding and evaluating people. I know my wife is better at this than me. She's not always right, but if she has a bad feeling about something or somebody, she's usually right. I've had several jobs / positions over the years where I've had to hire a lot of people. I always made sure that key female members of our team (they were usually there anyway) would be in on every major or final interview. Sometimes I'd hear response back from a woman on our team that she just didn't trust someone. Maybe could or couldn't put her finger on it, but she'd usually be right, and I'd trust that opinion. And if I have a noticeably bad feeling about someone, especially to hire, I trust that.

On the more general idea of noticing things, like eye-color, I thing Doss is more of a rarity. I fit into the stereotypical category of clueless male. I've memorized the eye color of my wife and kids, through careful study and use of teaching aids like flash cards, but would be hard-pressed to tell you the eye color of almost anyone else. When I'm talking to people, it's just not something I consciously pay attention to. Or what shoes the person is wearing. Clueless I am.

My thoughts on male intuition are based only on observation—limited observation. I've only known a few men pretty well, some men slightly, and most men not at all. I've known maybe one guy who seemed very intuitive and i found him oddly disconcerting. i say it was odd because if i'd read about him in a book, he would have sounded great. however in real life it seemed sort of strange—borderline eery. i kept thinking, "hmm—i'm supposed to say things like that." I think it felt clostraphobic. like, "get out of my space." Now my husband (who i know very well obviously) is extremely factual and makes good decisions based on those facts. But he never just feels like somebody is a little off for no distinct reason. either he's sure they're a little off and has the facts to prove it, or he hasn't thought about it—because why should he when there are no facts to prove it. But, i find that we work very well together—him with his facts and me with my intuitions. i think too much intuition creates confusion. And too many facts is boring. being around that guy who was super intuitive did make me feel confused now that i think of it. most of my friends are highly intuitive and i love being with them but not for too long. we would all get confused. i'm begining to be confused right now. I'll go watch an action movie and tone it down.

Tomorrow I'm going to research the eye color of each of our staff.

Women's intuition:
Most of our formative years are spent trying to figure out why the hell we work just as hard as men but have so much more difficulty being taken seriously.
When we walk into unfamiliar situations, like meeting new people or having a job interview, we are at least subconsciously focused on expression, conduct, mannerisms, etc because we are searching for clues as to how to manipulate that situation to our advantage, or at least to regrade to an equal exchange. And, let's face it, we are used to being ignored in all kinds of social and professional situations, giving us a lovely catbird seat from which to observe the behavior of whatever loud male is demanding the spotlight.

Cynical? Nahhhhh.

Miranda, I think you are on to something. Sadly, women do typically have to fight an uphill battle to be taken seriously in professional situations. I don't know if this fully explains the "clueless males" phenomenon, but it might be a large part of it.

Just oblivious by comparison. ;)