Even when we apply conscious evaluation to a complex situation, intuition may assist us in the early stages, directing our focus rapidly to relevant factors, to which we then apply an in-depth conscious analysis. Thus the trained intuition of a historian may enable her quickly to identify the most likely causes of a complex historical event. Similarly, a chess master typically focuses on the relatively small subset of moves that feel particularly "strong," because of similarities with other board patterns carefully analyzed in the past and ingrained in the player's subconscious memory. Having determined the most promising moves, the master then applies a more detailed tactical logical analysis, if time permits.

For both the historian and the chess master, intuition is only reliable insofar as underlying principles have been consciously grasped in the past. Moreover, tentative intuitive judgments must be supported—or occasionally refuted—by careful logical reasoning.