> When you're dealing with people, though, that kind of response can be actively counterproductive. Anyone who's had a significant other "vent" and respond negatively when you try to turn to problem solving will probably recognize this dynamic.

Nonsense! As a logical, clear-thinking engineer, I recognize that if my wife is emotional and needs to vent, that the best way to improve her mental state is to listen and give emotional support and ask her if there's any way I can help. There's nothing illogical or non-intellectual about realizing that, it's just a matter of learning from experience. In fact, people who regularly turn to problem solving and annoy their significant others are probably too driven by their own emotions of frustration and empathy.

A better example of how logical, intellectual approaches to people problems don't always work might be with character judgments. Many people can derive intuitions about people without consciously recognizing where those intuitions are coming from, and deciding whether or not someone is trustworthy is often impossible to break down to logical terms until it's too late.