Abstract
Among the questions being asked during the recent flurry of activity in the experimental study of the unconscious is whether the unconscious simply carries on routine operations or performs ‘smart’ operations as well. This paper takes the position that the unconscious is very smart indeed and that it is not simply that well‐learned routines are stored there, but also that creative reorganisations that reduce the information processing load are produced there. These creative reorganisations include the instantiation of new relationships which are the basis of new insights. The performances of child prodigies and idiots savants illustrate these processes and, in addition, provide evidence for individual differences in innate propensities and skills. The implications of this view for education are briefly discussed.
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