Science, Strategy and War The Strategic Theory of ... - Boekje Pienter

implicit cross-referencing process of projection, empathy, correlation, rejection that makeappropriate orientation possible?’ 15As alluded to before, it is tempting to suggest that the answer Boyd derived from thecombination of Polanyi’s Knowing and Being, Bronowski’s The Identity of Man and varioussystems-theoretical works. Conceptually, Boyd asserts, it comes from ensuring variety inobservation, i.e., variety in mental modules or schemata, within the organization, fromconducting observation collectively and from communicating the perceptions. This will inturn lead to a shared, but enriched, understanding. Or in Boyd’s words, the message is toexpose individuals, with different skills and abilities, against a variety of situations - wherebyeach individual can observe and orient himself simultaneously to the others and to the varietyof changing situations.The reason is that ‘in such an environment, a harmony, or focus and direction, in operationsis created by the bonds of implicit communications and trust that evolve as a consequence ofthe similar mental images or impressions each individual creates and commits to memory byrepeatedly sharing the same variety of experience in the same way’. The beneficial pay-offs ofimplicit communications and trust which is created lies in the temporal dimension; thecommand and control process will occur at an accelerated pace and, second, in increase inthe level of initiative that can be generated now that lower level units can be given widelatitude. The payoff is ‘a command and control system, whose secret lies in what’s unstatedor not communicated to one another (in an explicit sense) - in order to exploit lower-levelinitiative yet realize higher-level intent, thereby diminish friction and compress time, hencegain both quickness and security’ 16 .To reinforce his point, Boyd addresses the consequences if one ‘cannot establishthese implicit connections or bonds- via similar mental images or impressions - as basis tocope with a many-sided uncertain and everchanging environment’ 17 . For this exploration,Boyd explains that the previous discussion assumed interaction with both the external andinternal environment. Rephrasing the question then becomes what would happen if acommand and control system hinders interaction with the external world. According toBoyd, this implies a focus inward, rather than outward 18 . This brings him back to Darwin,Gödel, Heisenberg and the Second Law of Thermodynamics.From Darwin, Boyd asserts once more, we observe that ‘the environment selects’,and this process is determined by the ‘ability or inability to interact and adapt to exigencies ofenvironment’. According to the Gödel Proof, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and theSecond Law of Thermodynamics, ‘one cannot determine the character or nature of a systemwithin itself, moreover, attempts to do so lead to confusion and disorder […]because in thereal world the environment intrudes’. Marrying these ideas to Clausewitz, Boyd suggests that:He who can generate many non-cooperative centers of gravity magnifies friction. Why?Many non-cooperative centers of gravity within a system restrict interaction and adaptability15 Ibid, p.17. Boyd here seems to use the term patterns for two different things. In this first sentenceof this paragraph, pattern seems to mean a visible consistence, cues in the enemy behavious whichindicate a certain action or is afoot, i.e. pattern recognition. In this sense, pattern is associated withSun Tzu. In the preceeding paragraph, pattern seemed to refer to mental modules and similar termswhich allows one to observe cues for what they are in the first place.16 Ibid, p.18.17 Ibid, p.19.18 Ibid, p.20238