Sounds like someone was cruel to you at one point. The parent likely means the opposite of what you're suggesting. Most people consider mathematical intuition

Sounds like someone was cruel to you at one point. The parent likely means the opposite of what you're suggesting. Most people consider mathematical intuition something that only develops from deep study. What the parent is referring to is being able to anticipate how a system will behave before you actually do the calculation. Most people who use mathematics in an industry job rely on their intuition rather than rigorous proofs. And most industry mathematicians will acknowledge that they're not as rigorous, nor as academically gifted, as their friends who stayed in academia. Just like a programmer with 20 years of experience can look at a bug and anticipate the cause.