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Preface Part II Hypothesis:..Peak experience can result in extraordinary insights into reality and can also be the source of breakthroughs in the generation of innovative scientific concepts. If this hypothesis is proven to be true, then it potentially becomes one of the single most important discoveries of all time. I am convinced that it is true and offer what I believe to be valid evidence to support this claim. For the past seven years I have been working on this book, which contains certain theories that originated from a peak experience. The theories are being offered to the scientific community for either verification or nullification, and therefore serve as a test of the hypothesis presented above. If over time the Integrated Theory of Intelligence is validated, then it becomes strong evidence to support this hypothesis. This in fact is why the book was written. The strategy employed has included writing as complete a general theory as possible, one that is both creative and far-reaching, and even perhaps somewhat revolutionary. Some of the concepts presented will reach considerably farther than is presently justified by existing scientific evidence. If the concepts are verified over time, as were Einstein's theories on relativity, then the hypothesis presented above has strong evidence to support it. The more bold and imaginative the theory being tested, the greater the chance for error. Conversely, if it is eventually verified as true, then it stands as stronger evidence in support of the hypothesis. The concepts presented in the Integrated Theory of Intelligence were mostly obtained from the peak experience (P.E.). Some of the thoughts conveyed were already part of my own information system, but during the P.E. they were integrated into a completely new concept of reality. Many of the concepts, although new to me, had already been scientifically validated, though I had no conscious awareness nor understanding of them at the time. It was only after the event that I began searching the literature for verification of my newly acquired insight. As much as possible this has been woven into the text in support of each conclusion. The important point is that even though much of the information contained within the theory was already known or suspected in bits and pieces (to myself as well as various other individuals), I had no conscious knowledge or understanding of most of it before the P.E. A definition and discussion of P.E. will be presented and examples given of others who have generated scientific concepts following probable peak experiences. P.E. has best been defined and studied by Dr. Abraham Maslow, former president of the American Psychological Association and one of the most important leaders of "third-force" or "humanistic psychology.".1...It is basically Dr. Maslow's definition of P.E. that is being used throughout this work, since his description best fits my own experience. P.E. represents one of at least several altered states of consciousness and might be referred to as a transient state of supraconsciousness. It is a relatively common occurrence and one poll indicates that over one-third of all individuals claim to have had one.2
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