(U) The SIGINT Philasapher: Cngnitive Dverflaw?

FROM: (nirvana)?

Run Date: [i4f15i2fi11

(U) There's a camputer sitting atap yaur shaulders. Granted, real camputers can apparently best
human brains an Jeep ardy with ease, but all the Since Naam Chamsky and his caharts at
MIT up ened the flaadgates tn the study af haw we think, cagnitive has came a lung
way. Althaugh the ensuing decades af research have highlighted the astaunding cap abilities af aur
gray matter, the field has alsa exp used the limitatians aur brains are subject ta. It may be warth
cansidering the implicatians these limitatians have far c-ur wark in SID.

(U) "Channel cap acity" is the term same cagnitive have begun ta apply tn the brain's
limits an the amaunt af certain infarmatian it can retain. Far instance, research shaws that the
average persan can anly differentiate between 5-9 different tunes, shapes, ar textures at a given
time. Any mare, and aur capacity ta categarixe becames avertaxed, and we begin ta make
mistakes. In ather wards, the servers averlc-ad. It is yet anather example af haw unprepared
humans are, in evalutianary terms, far the infarmatian age. Evalutianary bialagist Sherwaad
Washburn ance wrate:

(U) "Mast af human evalutian taak place befare the advent af agriculture, when we lived in small
graups, face-ta-face. Man evalved ta feel strangly ahaut few peaple, shart distances, and relatively
brief intervals. 

(U) The questian then becames: If an individual brain has fimte "Channel cap acity," dues the vast
callective pf camprised af thausands af br?liant, yet limited, brains alsa have a defimte
"channel capacity"? If sa, what is it? Haw da we knew when we've reached it? What if we've
already exceeded it? In essence, cauld Sl?'s reach exceed its grasp? Can the cambined cagnitive
pawer pf 51]] cannect all the necessary dats ta avaid, predict, ar advise when the imprabable,
camplex, c-r unthinkable happens?

(U) Take far example the number af taals, clearances, systems, campliances, and admimstrative
requirements we encaunter befare we even begin ta engage in the wark cf the missian itself. The
missian then invalves an ever? expanding set af camplex issues, targets, accesses, and cap abilities.
The "cagnitive burden," sa ta speak, must at times feel averwhelming ta same af us. The 51]] is an
arganism with many maving parts. Sn haw da we ensure aur SIGINT potential is in line with, and
daesn't averwhelm aur callective cagnitive capacity? Can we caunt an aur averarching SID
mechanism ta self-regulate, ta arganically cull, sart, and retain? Dr is there perhaps samething
extra we aught ta be daing ta ensure we aperate at full explaitative and analytic farce?

(U) Surely sameane will paint but that the burgeaning amalgam af technalagical advances w?l aid
us in shauldering the burden. Hawever, histarically, this scenaria daesn't seem ta campletely bear
but. The c-nslaught af mc-re camputing pawer?-aften intended tc- autamate sc-me pracesses--has in
many respects demanded an expansian af aur cambined "channel cap aeity," rather than curbing the
flaw cf the infarmatian that's necessary ta retain.

(U) It's an issue warth thinking abaut and discussing. In the meantime, I'll be warking an my 
character 

Editar's nc-te: See a Tapiaca Pebble c-n this tapic.