Information ≠ Intelligence

Information ≠ Intelligence. Information + Context + Sense-Making = Intelligence Our mental models, implicit biases, intuition, schemata, & abstractions live in the Orient phase of Boyd’s OODA. They are etched through our lifetime of experiences & exposures. They’re the patterns, baselines, & frames of reference for how we make sense of new Observations. Intelligence, aside from being a noun of sorts, can also be a process. It’s the cycle of taking new information, comparing it to previous understandings & wisdom, breaking it apart (analyzing), combining it, & forming or synthesizing new mental models. We tend to call this process learning . Formal intelligence (as a noun) is a more explicitly shared insight for group or team sense-making. It accelerates the process of refining our existing baselines into something more accurate & in greater harmony with reality. Intelligence comes in many forms. Confidential reports to corporate decision-makers. Analytical repor