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Abstract

“Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings,” stated Salvador Dalii.

Intelligence requires drive and ambition to be useful. This applies to all applications of

intelligence no matter what part of the meaning you choose to apply to yourself. Intelligence can

be viewed, measured, examined, perceived, and thought of in many different, radical and

divergent ways. The sources used to investigate and examine intelligence were purposely varied

and contrasting. The views expressed on my perception of intelligence have been taken from

firsthand knowledge and experience. No matter how intelligence is viewed, it still resides in all

of us in some form or fashion.

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Intelligere

Is intelligence learning, reasoning, understanding and other mental activities? Is

intelligence a manifestation of higher mental capacity? Is intelligence understanding, gathering

and distributing information? What does intelligence mean to you? Is intelligence any of these

things in your mind? Intelligence can be more than one thing at once and you can use your

intelligence to gather intelligence on certain situations, people, and places. Dr. Carl Sagan1 once

said, “Knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart; intelligence is not information alone

but also judgment, the manner in which information is collected and used.” Knowledge comes

from being wise, not from being intelligent. You show intelligence when you know you can

learn from your mistakes and choices in life, as well as the actions of others. Intelligence to me

over all things, which has been for most of my life, is the ability to collect information about

people, locations and situations. This intelligence has enabled me to ensure the safety of

personnel serving this country and enacting them to carry out operations in the most efficient

manner.

Intelligence, or "faculty of learning," comes from the Latin word intelligentia.

Intelligentia originated in the 14th century. Intelligentia during its period meant

"...understanding," which spawned from intelligentem "discerning," or intelligere "to understand,

comprehend.” The history of intelligence, especially how the definition has evolved and

changed throughout time, is extremely intriguing. I believe some of its earlier meanings are a

little more accurate to its most common use in the English language. When most people hear

1 Carl Sagan was an astronomer and a Pulitzer Prize winning author who was often described as "the scientist who made the universe clearer to the ordinary person". Dr. Sagan helped to popularize science through the writing of hundreds of articles and over two dozen books. His television series "Cosmos" became the most watched show in public television history. More than 500 million people in 60 different countries saw it. Dr. Sagan was also the founder of Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence or SETI.

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intelligence during this day and age their first usual thought is in relation to the I.Q.2 or idem

quod, which is presently known as the intelligence quotient. The history of intelligence is

extremely varied and expansive to go into great depth about. The Latin roots of intelligence can

be examined and analyzed deeply but that is for another paper.

Going back many years in my life to when I was a child, I will never forget when I had

my I.Q. tested. At that time, all I remember being told is that the test was a measure of how

smart I was. Now being more knowledgeable, I came to learn that it is not how smart you are, as

stated earlier, but your capacity to learn. As most people in society see an I.Q. score they believe

the score itself is a measure of actual knowledge and not a measure on the aptitude and ability to

learn new things and concepts in life. Some of the most intelligent in the world require things

like assistance in tying their shoes or various other aspects of what we see as normal everyday

life. I see some of this in myself and some of my close friends who are considered extremely

intelligent. Social awkwardness is one of the many common and ill-conceived aspects of the

highly intelligent in this world. As an example a close friend of mine, which is a nuclear physics

doctoral student at George Washington University, has many social quarks and aspects that are

seen as abnormal. Many of these issues stem from a driving desire of perfection in all things but

have many side effects. Dr. D.E. Hamachek, educational psychologist, identified six very

specific overlapping types of behavior associated with perfectionism: Depression, a nagging I

should feeling, shame and guilt, face saving behavior, shyness and procrastination, and

2 Intelligence quotient originally was calculated using the ratio of a person's mental age (measured by a standardized test) and chronological age. An I.Q. of 90-100 is usually considered average and anything over 120, superior. (intelligent quotient)

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depreciation. These issues seem to be somewhat prevalent in high I.Q. or gifted intelligence3

people in society.

Intelligence throughout most of my life has been the pursuit of facts, conjecture, and all

information surrounding a person, place or event. The information was then used to coordinate

military actions against targets or used to collect further intelligence about an associate or

something or someone related to the original target. This intelligence took a great level of

intelligence and understanding to properly access and analyze. The information is kept within

the United States Intelligence Community. The United States Intelligence Community was

established by Executive Order 12333ii, signed on December 4, 1981 by President Ronald

Reagan. This Executive Order4 established that there will be 16 elements or members that will

work together to collect, disseminate, and support all sections and braches of the United States

Government. These elements span from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to local law

enforcement agencies.

The world that which intelligence analysts work has changed dramatically over the years

since the beginning of the Second World War. Our enemies have made a drastic shift from large

armies spread across battlefields to individuals lurking in the shadows or hiding in plain sight.

As stated by David T. Moore5 in his Critical Thinking and Intelligence Analysis publication,

“Our times demand fresh, critical reasoning on the part of those tasked to assess and warn about

3 Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in top 10% or rarer) in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensor motor skills (e.g., painting, dance, sports).

4 Executive Orders are legally binding orders given by the President, acting as the head of the Executive Branch, to Federal Administrative Agencies. Executive Orders are generally used to direct federal agencies and officials in their execution of congressionally established laws or policies. However, in many instances they have been used to guide agencies in directions contrary to congressional intent. (Executive Order)

5 David T. Moore is a career senior intelligence analyst and technical director at the National Security Agency. Mr. Moore is also an adjunct faculty member of the National Cryptologic School; has taught at the National Defense Intelligence College, Washington D.C. Mr. Moore holds a B.A. in sociology from Washington and Lee University and a Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence from National Defense Intelligence College. (Moore, D.)

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threats as well as those tasked to act on those threats” (p. 9.) This is how I view intelligence and

how intelligence has been a part of my adult life. Intelligence has even been part of my current

day life working as a search and rescue volunteer. The information collected to help locate and

save the life of a lost or injured individual is classified as intelligence. Many of the same

methods of collection, analysis and dissemination are used in the civilian/public service sector as

the federal government.

All in all intelligence is something that is part of all of our lives no matter what we do or

how we do it. The way each of us views intelligence will vary drastically from person to person.

In Robert Anton Wilson’s6 book Prometheus Rising he stated that, "In summary, intelligence

intensification is desirable, because there is not a single problem confronting humanity that is not

either caused or considerably worsened by the prevailing stupidity (insensitivity) of the species:

badly wired robots bumping into and maiming and killing each other" (p. 61.) What really

matters is that we push our intellect to new levels each day to better our mind. Intelligence is an

evolving word, an amorphous being always shifting and changing, which will continue to change

through time. As Mark Twain would say, “It is wiser to find out than to suppose.”

6 Robert Anton Wilson (January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) wrote 35 books and over 1,500 published articles. He coauthored, with Robert Shea, the underground classic The Illuminatus! Trilogy, which won the 1986 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award. His writings include Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy, called "the most scientific of all science fiction novels," by New Scientist, and nonfiction works of Futurist psychology and guerilla ontology, such as The Cosmic Trigger Trilogy, Prometheus Rising, Quantum Psychology and The New Inquisition.

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References

Carl Sagan Biography. (n.d.). Biography Base Home. Retrieved February 15, 2011, from

http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Sagan_Carl.html

Executive Orders. (n.d.). National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved February 15,

2011, from http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/

12333.html

Hannibal.net | The Hannibal Courier-Post. (n.d.). Hannibal.net. Retrieved February 16, 2011,

from http://www.marktwainhannibal.com/twain/quotes/

intelligence. (n.d.). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved February 07, 2011, from

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/intelligence

intelligence quotient. (n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy,

Third Edition. Retrieved February 07, 2011, from

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/intelligence quotient

Moore, D. (n.d.). National Defense Intelligence College. National Defense Intelligence College.

Retrieved February 15, 2011, from http://www.ndic.edu/press/2641.htm

NAGC - What is Giftedness?. (n.d.). NAGC :: Home. Retrieved February 15, 2011, from

http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=574

The Official Web Site of Mark Twain. (n.d.). CMG Worldwide. Retrieved February 16, 2011,

from http://www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/about/

The Robert Anton Wilson Website - About R.A.W.. (n.d.). The Robert Anton Wilson Website.

Retrieved February 15, 2011, from http://www.rawilson.com/about.html

i Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis of Dalí de Púbol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989) aka Salvador Dali was a prominent Spanish surrealist painter born in Figueres, Spain. (Salvador Dali)

ii As well as Department of Defense, which includes Air Force Intelligence (AF ISR), Army Intelligence (INSCOM), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA), National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), National Security Agency (NSA), and Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Also included is the Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterterrorism. Department of Homeland Security has Coast Guard Intelligence and the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. US Department of Justice brings the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration to the table. Department of State has its Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Finally yet importantly the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is part of the United States Department of the Treasury. All of these offices, bureaus, and agencies operate independently of each other in most cases but usually share their final product. Most of my experience was working with the Department of Defense in partnership with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security in Counterterrorism operations. The Director of National Intelligence, which is the only person the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency reports to, established the National Intelligence Program or NIP to help govern and control joint operations outside of the Department of Defense, which the Secretary of Defense manages.