7. Boundary Intelligence 🔗

1/ I'd like to make up a theory of intelligence based on a 2-element ontology: boundary and interior intelligence

2/ Boundary intelligence is how you deal with information flows across the boundary of your processing abilities

3/ Interior intelligence is how you process information. Includes logic, emotional self-regulation, etc.

4/ A thesis I've been converging on is that boundary intelligence is VASTLY more consequential once interior intelligence exceeds a minimum

5/ Boundary intelligence is by defn meta, since you're tuning your filters and making choices about what to even let hit your attention

6/ I think it is highly consequential because almost all risk management happens via boundary intelligence (blindspots, black swans etc)

7/ Interior intelligence is your poker skill and strategy. Boundary intelligence is picking which table to sit down at

8/ Interior intelligence is reading a book competently, extracting insights and arguments. Boundary intelligence is picking books to read.

9/ Interior intelligence is being a good listener. Boundary intelligence is deciding whom to listen to.

10/ Basically, better input plus mediocre IQ beats bad input and genius IQ every time, so boundary intelligence is leverage

11/ And obviously, boundary intelligence is more sensitive to context. The noisier and angrier info streams get, the more BI beats II

12/ Most of boundary intelligence has to do with input intelligence, but output intelligence becomes more important with higher agency

13/ Output intelligence is basically the metacognition around when/where/how/to-whom/why to say or do things you are capable of saying/doing

14/ We think a lot about external factors in decisions, but output intelligence is about freedom left after you've dealt with external part