[yters]

I've never solved a problem while completely unconscious. I've occasionally had insights while dreaming, and there is some intuitive aspect to thought that is difficult or impossible to explicitly articulate. But, every instance of problem solving I engage in is connected with conscious thought.

[perl4ever]

I don't know what "completely unconscious" means, but it doesn't sound like what I was describing.

I think I agree that my problem solving is connected with conscious thought, but the heavy lifting is mostly (or at least frequently) done by something that "I" am not aware of in detail.

When someone is explaining something complicated, pretty often, maybe not always, my (conscious) mind is pretty blank. I can say "yeah, I'm following you", but I feel like I'm not. Then when I start working on it, I feel like I am fumbling around for the keys to unlock some background processing that was happening in the meantime.

Also, when I am in a state where I am consciously writing something elaborate, and I feel connected to the complex concepts behind it, sometimes I get stuck in a blind alley. My context seems too narrow, and often I can get unstuck by just doing something unrelated to distract my conscious mind, like browsing news on my phone and then it's like a stuck process was terminated and I realize what I need to change on a higher level of abstraction.

It's possible I have some sort of inherent disability that I am compensating for by using a different part of my brain than normal, I suppose.

[yters]

Every instance of problem solving I encounter involves conscious intentionality. As an analogy, when I get a drink from the fridge, there is a lot going on in my body to make that happen that I do not consciously control. But, overall it is taking place due to my conscious intentional control. I argue the same is going on in the mind, a lot of subconscious things going on that I do not directly control, but the overall effect is directed by my conscious control.

[perl4ever]

That doesn't seem like a good analogy to me, because intrinsically problem solving is about something you don't understand in the first place, whereas reaching for something you do already understand what you are doing.

If I use a mechanical grabber aid to reach something, then it isn't figuring out how to do anything. But if I ask Wolfram Alpha the answer to a math problem, it isn't me doing it.

[yters]

Sure, it depends on what level your intentionality is involved. But, my experience is my intentionality is quite intimately involved with my intellectual processes. I cannot just will 'answer my math problem' and my mind pops out the answer. There is a lot of intentional, mental actions that take place to arrive at an answer.