Rogue Tech Hub: December, 2025 – Rogue Tech Talks ©

Recalling Glen’s Tech Talk (from last month) on A Brief History of Intelligence; as a means to connecting his discussion of the brain’s parts and functions to growing your career.

“Primates gained the ability to basically imagine themselves in the future, given what they think is going to happen. Earlier mammals could not do that. They could learn from what’s going on…they could see what, maybe, what a fellow mouse wanted to do, but they didn’t learn the trick of being able to imagine what they were going to want. For example, when squirrels put together nuts for the coming winter, it’s strictly instinctual; DNA-driven. A human can use mental simulations to see what they want in the future.”

Where and how you—and the line of ancestors that came before you—grew up influenced the development of your aptitudes. This is explained in the online flipbook, entitled Choosing Intelligently, produced by Johnson O’Conner Research Foundation and available for download here.

Quote from “Choosing Intelligently” Guide.

We have all heard of the “born” artist or the “gifted” scientist, people who seem to fit perfectly into their chosen career. When we use these designations, it appears to us that they perform their work almost without effort, and their success comes from just being who they are.

The reality, of course, is that success always requires effort, but not all effort has to feel like labor. Our philosophy is that for the person whose aptitudes are a good match with their work, the required effort can be a source of joy rather than a burden, as that person is “doing what comes naturally”. The gifted scientist is energized by exploring the mysteries of chemical reactions, just as the born artist is inspired when faced with a blank canvas. Their success comes from following the pull of their natural abilities.

While some fortunate individuals discover early in life what their gifts are, and have opportunities to express them, a great many people are unsure about their abilities. Perhaps someone has had little opportunity for the kinds of activities that should have revealed their gifts, or is aware of some strengths but not others. Our own estimates of our abilities are not always accurate, and aspirations other people have for us can confuse matters even further. This is where aptitude testing can help.

Much like puzzle pieces, one piece by itself has little value; it’s the understanding of how the pieces fit together that provides meaning for each individual.

What I want to present today is a method that can be used at any age to assess individual aptitudes and view them as a completed puzzle; presenting a picture of individual potential.

Step 1: Testing
The fastest, easiest and most credible source for testing is JOCRF’s Aptitude Testing. The current cost is about $1,000 for a 2-day session, not including travel to one of their testing facilities which are located up-and-down both coasts, down south (TX) and up north (IL). While this seems like a lot, it’s peanuts compared to over $35,000 per year (for our local university).

The results of the aptitude testing are presented in spreadsheet form and explained in the Choosing Intelligently Guide.

With your personalized Aptitude Inventory, you are able to focus on areas that provide the best chance of success in a given profession. The inventory includes suggested professions for all combinations of aptitudes and all scoring levels.

Step 2: Choosing a Starting Point
Consider past experience, preferred geographic location, available target entities (business, professional clubs, not-for-profit volunteer groups, etc.), political climate, family issues.

Step 3: Set Goals
Decide the end point you desire to reach and work backwards from that point, identifying the tasks and steps you must take to reach that point. “Can’t get to Z until I achieve Y, can’t get to Y until I achieve X, and so on.”

Step 4: Review Progress Daily
Write down your plan and review it daily, reading each goal out loud to trigger feedback as to additions, changes or deletions.

Step 5: Reward Yourself
As you achieve successive goals, reward yourself as appropriate to provide incentive to keep going.

Excerpted from Choosing Intelligently: The aptitudes & abilities tested include the following:

> Structural Visualization indicates:
— The ability to visualize in three dimensions
— Rotate a three-dimensional object in your mind
— Imagine what something looks like from another angle
> Ideaphoria: Measures the rate of flow of ideas.
> Foresight: Has a strong correlation with educational attainment.
> Inductive Reasoning: Measures the ability to make quick connections based on new information.
> Analytical Reasoning: Measures the ability to organize ideas and concepts in your mind without the use of exhaustive, step-by-step instructions.
> Numerical Aptitudes: Measures the ability to find trends or patterns in numbers.
> Auditory Aptitudes:
— Tonal Memory: The ability to recall sequences of tones.
— Pitch Discrimination: measures the ability to distinguish between different frequencies, or pitches, of sound.
— Rhythm Memory: Measures the ability to learn and remember rhythms or beats.
> Visual Aptitudes: Memory For Design: Measures the ability to remember and reproduce abstract line drawings.
> Observation: Measures the ability to notice and remember small visual details.
> Color Discrimination: measures the ability to see fine distinctions between very similar hues.
> Visual Designs: Measures general artistic ability.
> Silograms: Measures word-learning ability.
> Graphoria: Measures perceptual speed and accuracy.
> Dexterity Aptitudes: Measures the ability to do precise and coordinated work with your hands.
> Grip: Measures hand strength, using a dynamometer.
> Workplace Personality:
— Objective: Collaborating | Delegating | Generalist | Big Picture Thinking
— Subjective: Specializing | Expertise | Individual Contributor | Consulting | Autonomy
> Vocabulary: Measures general word knowledge
> Interests: Find outlets for your natural abilities

The discussion was lively, including analyzing whether or not AI might replace humans…not a chance!

During this discussion, Karen explained that, in response to USAA’s plan to honor veterans through action, she wrote a letter to Juan Andrade, CEO, outlining a proposal for the Veteran-oriented insurance company to connect with Johnson O’Conner Research Foundation in order to offer training sessions at local military bases for service members who are returning to civilian life. If JOCRF is willing to send a trainer to a local military base to train groups of vets over a week visit, USAA might be willing to cover the trainer’s trip expenses and the vets might be eligible for loans from USAA Bank to handle the cost of the exams.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 1/8/26 starting at 6:30 p.m. at Outback Steakhouse. Charlie McHenry will be presenting a talk on Gilbert Hyatt, erstwhile inventor of the micro-computer, and how he has used his extensive portfolio of patents in a decades long legal battle against tech industry giants and the government.

Join Us!