Quote:
Originally Posted by Plasma Snake
As a recruit-in-process filling some of the abundant wait time by trying to do his homework (reading both here and elsewhere) I hear a lot about the importance of situational awareness, especially when it comes to SF. Nevertheless, it strikes me as a rather nebulous and subjective thing for being so essential.
So I thought it would be very interesting and useful to hear a Professional's take. My questions: How would you define SA in the context of your profession? More importantly, it is something one is born with or something that can be learned? If it can be learned, it is something one can study intentionally, or is absorbed indirectly?
I graciously offer US$0.02 in advance for any takers.
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You might want to hang on to your $0.02. You will most likely need it later because you've already flunked the pre-test. SA is about understanding your operational environment and being open to the subliminal clues that tell you something is happening that you need to pay attention to. In this case the "clue" was the welcome sticky encouraging the use of the search button. The early threads/posts/years of this forum are chock full of references to SA and mindset in general. Almost anything written by NousDefionsDoc or The Reaper during the early years will answer your question in more detail than any of us are willing to repeat today. (We don't normally tell you this because it's a test of your motivation to learn. You get the explanation because you just gave me an excellent opportunity to provide a "learning experience" for all the other new members. Thank you for volunteering to be a teaching point.)
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A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (42B.C)
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