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

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Examples from EngineeringSome Outstanding ContributorsContributionsSavery/Newcomen/Watt (1698/1705/1769)Steam engineGeorge Stephenson (1825)Steam railwayH.Pixii/M.H. von Jacobi (1832/1838)AC generator/AC motorSamuel Morse (1837)TelegraphJ.N. Nieqce/J.M. Daguerre/Fox Talbot (1839)PhotographyGaston Plante (1859)Rechargeble batteryZ. Gramme/H. Fontaine (1869/1873) DC Generator/DC motorNicholas Otto (1876)4-cycle gasoline engineAlexander G. Belle (1876)TelephoneThomas A. Edison (1877)PhonographThomas A. Edison (1879)Electric light bulbWerner von Siemans (1879)Electric locomotiveGermany (1881)Electric metropolitan railwayCharles Parsons (1884)Steam turbineBenz/Daimler (1885/1886)Gasoline automobileT.A. Edison/J.LeRoy/T.Armat/et al (1890-1896)Motion-picture camera/projectorN.Tesla/G.Marconi (1893/1895)Wireless telegraphRudolf Diesel (1897)Diesel locomotiveItaly (1902)Electric railwayExamples from scienceSome outstanding ContributorsContributionsIsaac Newton (1687)‘Exactness’/predictability via laws of motion/gravitationAdam Smith (1776)Foundation of modern capitalismA.M. Ampere/C.F.Gauss (1820’s/1830’s)Exactness/predictability via electric/magneticlawsCarnot/Kelvin /Clausius/Bolzmann (1824/1852/1865/1870’s) Decay/disintegration via second law ofthermodynamicsFaraday/Maxwell/Herz (1831/1865/1888)Union of electricity & magnetism via field theoryDarwin & Wallace (1838/1858)Evolution via theory of natural selectionMarx & Engels (1848 – 1895)Basis for modern ‘scientific socialism’Gregory Mendel (1866)Inherited traits via his laws of geneticsHenri Poincare (1890’s)Inexactness/unpredictability via gravitationalinfluence of three bodiesMax PlanckDiscreteness/discontinuity via his quantum theoryAlbert EinsteinExactness/predictability via his special & generalrelativity theoriesBohr/de Broglie/Heisenberg/Schrodinger/Dirac/ et alUncertainty/indeterminism in quantum( 1913/1920’s…) physicsL.Lowenheim & T. Skolem (1915-1933)Unconfinement (non-categoricalness) inmathematics & logicClaude Shannon (1948)Information theory as basis for communicationCrick & Watson (1953)DNA spiral helix as the genetically codedinformation of lifeLorenz/Prigogine/Mandelbrot/Feigenbaum/et al (1963/1970’s.) Irregularity/unpredictability in non-lineardynamicsG.Chaitin/C. Bennett (1965/1985)Incompleteness/incomprehensibility ininformation theory262
Grand MessageThis long list of past contributions by these people suggests a ‘Grand Message’ for now andfor the future, Boyd continues 85 . And this grand message is an elaborate restatement of theideas of Gödel and Heisenberg first introduced in the essay, but now (almost) in layman’slanguage. In the mathematical/logical sense, Boyd asserts, the theorems associated withGödel, Lowenheim & Skolem, Tarski, Church, Turing, Chaitin, and others reveal that notonly do the statements representing a theoretical system for explaining some aspect of realityexplain that reality inadequately or incompletely but, like it or not, these statements spill outbeyond any one system and do so in unpredictable ways. Or, conversely, these theoremsreveal that we can neither predict the future migration and evolution of these statements norjust confine them to any one system nor suggest that they fully embrace any such system.If we extend these ideas and build upon them in a scientific/engineering sense, wecan say, according to Boyd, that any coherent intellectual or physical systems we evolve torepresent or deal with large portions of reality will at best represent or deal with that realityincompletely or imperfectly. Moreover, we neither have nor can we create beforehand asupersystem that can forecast or predict the kind of systems we will evolve in the future torepresent or deal with that reality more completely or more perfectly. Furthermore, such asupersystem can neither forecast nor predict the consequences that flow from those systemsthat we create later on. Going even further, we cannot determine or discern the character ornature of such systems (super or otherwise) within themselves. These findings imply that:People using theories or systems evolved from a variety of information will find itincreasingly difficult and ultimately impossible to interact with and comprehend phenomenaor systems that move increasingly beyond and away from that variety – that is, they willbecome more and more isolated from that which they are trying to observe or deal with,unless they exploit the new variety to modify their theories/systems or create newtheories/systems.This reveals that, ‘while we can comprehend and predict some portions of the everchangingworld that unfolds before us, other portions seem forever indistinct and unpredictable’ 86 .Underlying dynamicsAfter reading his previous work it is obvious Boyd has reformulated here one of his earlieststatements that we must constantly make sure we develop adequate mental models to makeup for the ever present and unavoidable level of uncertainty. For his present audience hekeeps this insight hidden until later. Instead he raises the question ‘what all this have to dowith our ability to thrive and grow in such a world that is seemingly orderly and predictableyet disorderly and unpredictable? 87To get at this question, he suggests ‘to take a closer and more general look at whatscience, engineering, and the pursuit of technology produce and how this is accomplished.Furthermore, suspecting that these practices and pursuit are not wholly accidental norobvious and that they seem to change us in some ways, he also suggests to examine whatkeeps the whole enterprise going and how this enterprise affects us personally 88 . In other85 Ibid, p.14. The next section almost literally follows Boyd’s text on p.14..86 Ibid, p.16.87 Ibid, p.17.88 Ibid, p.18.263
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Science, Strategy and WarThe Strate
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We are survival machines.Richard Da
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CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION............
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Introduction.......................
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1. INTRODUCTIONTo flourish and grow
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testing of the decision selected by
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momentum and tempo, which in combin
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tracing the history of war Boyd saw
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in general. Referring to Karl Poppe
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constitute an argument about strate
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2. ON STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC THEORY
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its internal make up and the dynami
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strategist’s task is not to creat
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must be holistic, paying due respec
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Such a division can also be discern
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sensibility that would be capable o
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Why strategic theorizing is difficu
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truth is independent of human belie
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policy, is policy’ 107 . Subseque
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of systems of thought which will gu
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Science and Strategic TheoryDominan
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the major intellectual currents tha
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friction, which is infused with the
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3. THE SEEDS OF A THEORY AND THE FE
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Slowly his writings matured. In 196
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This situation also reflected the d
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at the cost of airspeed depletion)
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and air power theorists are notably
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Lawrence wrote Liddell Hart that fo
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The Indirect ApproachThe foregoing
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in weakening the opponent’s will
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standing in a direct theoretical li
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perfect information, so Chapter 9 r
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According with the enemy is the ass
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preconceived battle plan depends up
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mental or moral, instead they aim t
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calculation, based on the assumptio
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Turbulent environmentThis convictio
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the introduction of the M1 Abrams t
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campaign with which it was most com
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The debates resulted via the improv
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emphasized being more responsive, a
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4. SCIENCE: BOYD’S FOUNTAINKnowle
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The list exceeds 20 pages. Indeed,
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counter-culture. He had read severa
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Popper’s Evolutionary Epistemolog
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species. Finally, theories, unlike
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discovery’ 39 . ‘We have here t
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for failure and an encouragement fo
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investigated and a change of the ru
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Paradigm shiftBeyond NewtonIn the p
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philosophical aspects, Prigogine an
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uncertainty in another “conjugate
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The link between thermodynamics and
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As Ludwig Bertalanffy noted, the gr
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assessing deviation from coursecoun
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the system by the environment or ot
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A slightly more complex model from
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implementation of the right program
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The model below shows this process
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The process of learning, and the pr
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Positive indicatorsNegative indicat
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In Patterns of Conflict he also emp
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progressed and developed a new lang
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advances in knowledge, adaptation,
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TraditionalReductionismLinear causa
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exist only because they are open. T
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Concentration of chemical ANew stab
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It preserves the web-like pattern o
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Orientation shapes the character of
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either. The edge of chaos is where
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The final region is the boundary be
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Levels of adaptationThis naturally
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Operate inside adversary’s OODA l
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Organisms which are internally cons
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The last mentioned feature implies
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mathematics, in short chaos and com
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Such efforts have lead to suggestio
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processes are maintained simultaneo
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Boyd’s views on command and contr
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Several of these ideas surface in B
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problems they seek to comprehend or
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ehavior in reaction to what the oth
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sciences, which he termed a new int
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egulations, orders, and other means
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as focus for military planning on t
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A Discourse and the scientific Zeit
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Sharpening our mental capabilities
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perceive it’ 184 . By trying to c
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Ensure a large variety of conceptua
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The main intent of the effort is to
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e true. Thus tested and refined, it
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particulars or we can start with th
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inconsistencies may emerge to stifl
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although not exact1y -- since the u
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eality 29 . As indicated earlier, t
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He then incorporates a section of t
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Attack enemy’s plans as best poli
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planning process which included var
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Boyd does not find fault with these
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oth methods the same processes seem
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strategic planning in light of the
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gauged all the conditions indicated
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Blitzkrieg disrupts the connections
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- a medium to realize superior inte
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Only the fourth condition relates t
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Shape and exploit crises environmen
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penetrate an adversary to subvert,
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Maneuver Conflict - as practices by
Page 222 and 223: In light of his previous observatio
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Page 226 and 227: This then leads to the second wrap-
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Page 230 and 231: dimension on the behavior of a stra
Page 232 and 233: Theme for Disintegration and Collap
Page 234 and 235: Strategic AimDiminish adversary’s
Page 236 and 237: ApplicationRevisiting Sun Tzu, rein
Page 238 and 239: The general underlying idea of Coun
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Page 242 and 243: destruction and creation to his inv
Page 244 and 245: Boyd’s inspiration also came in p
Page 246 and 247: The Big O: Orientation.The ensuing
Page 248 and 249: implicit cross-referencing process
Page 250 and 251: Magnify adversary’s friction and
Page 252 and 253: This differs from traditional views
Page 254 and 255: patterns that produced success in m
Page 256 and 257: General SurveyIn this section his i
Page 258 and 259: city, however, the situation is qui
Page 260 and 261: “Destruction and Creation”, by
Page 262 and 263: So Boyd discerns within the adversa
Page 264 and 265: On isolation and interactionPhysica
Page 266 and 267: The Art of Success:Shape or influen
Page 268 and 269: The meaning of strategy and the art
Page 270 and 271: however is not much different, but
Page 274 and 275: words, in order to gain a richer im
Page 276 and 277: what applies to science and enginee
Page 278 and 279: technology, is connected to the gam
Page 280 and 281: The real OODA loop270
Page 282 and 283: This relates the OODA loop clearly
Page 284 and 285: for a process of learning, of evolv
Page 286 and 287: thing any system is constantly faci
Page 288 and 289: communication and explicit directio
Page 290 and 291: 8. CONCLUSIONThe history of science
Page 292 and 293: found himself in. To Sun Tzu Boyd a
Page 294 and 295: strategy. He elaborates on several
Page 296 and 297: ehavior, demonstrating the value of
Page 298 and 299: film, sociology, geography, literar
Page 300 and 301: That social scientific knowledge, o
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Page 304 and 305: The reflexive nature of modern soci
Page 306 and 307: the context within which the situat
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Page 310 and 311: all point at the changes the techno
Page 312 and 313: central sign of post-modernity. In
Page 314 and 315: a revolution in military affairs oc
Page 316 and 317: This will affect war and warfare:
Page 318 and 319: Athena’s Camp. They see swarming
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Military War Beyond Military War No
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schemas. Gell-Mann developed the id
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extent in the novel approach for th
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ANNEX B: BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PATTERNS O
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LeBoeuf, Michael, “GMP, The Great
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Wolf, Eric R., “Peasant Wars of t
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Bartolomasi, Paolo: ‘The Realitie
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Cohen, William S.: Report of the Qu
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Fukuyama, Francis: The Great Disrup
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Hughes, Daniel: ‘Abuses of German
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Lewin, Roger, and Birute Regine:
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Murdock, Paul, ‘Principles of War
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Rosenau, James, N.: ‘Many Damn Th
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Walt, Stephen M.: ‘Rigor or Rigor
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Science, Strategy and War The Strategic Theory of ... - Boekje Pienter

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