If you’ve ever met a woman you didn’t like, but you weren’t sure why, your intuition was telling you something. Maybe her clothing was mismatched or her speech was off. Perhaps she had a problem looking you straight in the eyes. You know, strange stuff. Yet, after spending some time with her, what happens if you discover she’s really interesting, fun, and trustworthy, but just incredibly shy? Should you trust your intuition or your quirky new friend?

Our brains have developed sophisticated pattern-recognition abilities over millions of years of evolution. We call it “intuition.” Intuition helped our ancestors discriminate between the tall grasses of the Savannah and the lions and tigers that might be lurking within them. It also helped us discriminate between trusted family members and opportunistic strangers. This discrimination “software” tells us to be wary of anything that deviates from the norm. Whether it’s a lion shape in the grass, a tribe of strangers sharing our waterhole, or a woman who dresses funny and can’t look you in the eye - intuition says, “be cautious.”

But intuition isn’t always trustworthy. The grasses move, everyone scatters, but no lions pounce. The tribe that shared our waterhole was actually pretty cordial. They gave us some red ochre they mine up north and thanked us for sharing our water. Also, some girls in our clan married boys from theirs. Before, we intuited that they were enemies. Now, we are allies because of our shared experience and also by blood.

Intuition not only warns us to be cautious of patterns that deviate from the norm, but also to embrace patterns that seem normal.

Paul Bernardo was a handsome, charming, and polite fellow who lived in suburban Ontario, Canada. Well-liked by friends and neighbors, no one suspected this fine, upstanding citizen also lived a secret life as “The Scarborough Rapist.” Between May, 1987 and July, 1990, Bernardo raped at least eighteen women. Karla Homolka, his wife, was as beautiful as she was despicable. She helped him rape and degrade many girls and was also an accomplice in the “Schoolgirl Killer Murders.” She drugged her own sister, Tammy, and they both took turns assaulting her. The poor girl died during the horrific ordeal.

But Bernardo and Homolka had everyone convinced. The police had him in custody, with evidence, and even they were duped by this smooth talker. Again, intuition failed.

The police eventually nailed them by using another pattern-recognition system that is far superior to intuition: reason. Logic, and scientifically derived evidence eventually led to their arrest and conviction.

Therefore, whether you’re head over heels for your too-good-to-be-true partner, or you suspect your significant other has been cheating on you, always cross-examine your first witness (intuition) with a second witness (hard evidence.) As Moses advised, “at the mouth of two witnesses… shall the matter be established” (DEU 19:15).