April 8, 2000
Max Boisot
Together with Edward Wilson's Consilience this is the most structured and focused book in this section, and has real applicability as to how one might organize a truly national (that is to say, not just spy) intelligence community. Written from a transatlantic perspective, integrating the best of American and European thinking in his references, the author addresses the nature of information, its structuring, the dynamics of sharing information, learning cycles, institutional and cultural contexts, and ends with this thought: that we have spent close to a century “de-skilling” the population to suit assembly line needs and now must spend close to a century “re-skilling” the population to deal with complex information tasks where every action and reaction will be unique.
