Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 5, Number 1, Spring / Summer 2020 | Page 98

Global Security and Intelligence Studies
The methodology of evaluating
tests and the administration of a
critical thinking test will be examined
in this article; one of the striking results
found in a critical thinking test
administered by this author illustrates
the IC’s concerns. A critical thinking
test professionally designed for defense
and military employees was given to a
random sampling of twenty junior and
senior IAs with disparate levels of experience
and education, from high school
to Master’s degrees, and varying levels
of military experience. In the domain
of precise knowledge, 56 percent of
IAs could not anticipate outcomes or
see logical consequences (Marangione
2019). Due to the cost of the test, it was
administered to a small sample of IAs,
but it may explain why the IC is concerned.
While addressing this skill gap
is doable, it requires an understanding
of twenty-first-century challenges, why
this critical thinking skillset is perceived
as lacking, what constitutes the
critical thinking skillset, and the benefits
and drawbacks of critical thinking
tests as evaluators of employees.
The Weaponization
of Information and
Intellectual Awareness
Perhaps now, more than ever, it is
imperative to address and foster
critical thinking because we are
living in a world that challenges the
truth on many levels. There has never
been such a precedent for the ongoing,
systematic efforts to deny the truth and
sow seeds of suspicion through the purposeful
spreading of disinformation.
Additionally, with everyone able to author
and publish their truth, conspiracy
theories, fake science, and hate have
found a market. Manipulative actors
use new digital tools to take advantage
of humans’ inbred preference and craving
for answers that reinforce their echo
chambers. Alarmingly, a Pew Research
Study predicted a future information
landscape in which fake information
would crowd out reliable information.
Some respondents in the Pew study even
foresaw a world in which widespread
information scams and mass manipulation
would cause broad swathes of
the public to simply give up on being
informed participants in civic life (Anderson
2017). This is especially important
when it is well known that deliberate
misinformation is being spread by
Russia and is powerful enough to begin
to weaken the foundations of democracy.
As detailed in press accounts and
the US Department of Justice’s February
2018 indictment of sixteen Russian
organizations and persons, scores of
full-time employees faked news articles,
social media posts, and comments
on mainstream websites with the intention
of influencing US public opinion.
During the run-up to the 2016 US election,
Russian social media bots reportedly
helped drive mainstream media
coverage of false stories and even influenced
American stock prices (Golson
2018).
The IC’s Perspective
The IC is vested in its IAs’ critical
thinking skills, even though this
skill base has been questioned
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