Showing all posts tagged #john-boyd:
Posted on December 1st, 2020
De rerum natura.
Here’s Boyd’s definition of "insight" again:
Ability to peer into and discern the inner nature or workings of things. 

My first reaction when I read this was "Yawn." I mean, who wouldn’t want the talent to "peer into and discern the inner nature or workings of things"? And in fact, up until it suddenly appeared in slide 144, Boyd hadn’t attached much importance to it. Just to give one indication, he began Pattern...
Posted on December 1st, 2020
Unlikely because he was a US citizen, and then he died in March 1997. However, he has been enormously influential in British politics over the last several years.
In particular, he has been a significant source of ideas and inspiration for Dominic Cummings. Readers who are not citizens of the UK may not recognize Mr. Cummings. He ran the successful Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 Brexit referendum and now holds the position of chi...
Posted on December 1st, 2020
Chick Spinney, one of John Boyd’s closest associates, has revised his flow diagram depicting how Boyd’s strategic thinking evolved from his days flying F-86s in Korea in 1953 until his death in 1997.
In this chart, "ODA" is "orient-decide-act," not "observe-decide-act." As Chuck recalls, Boyd added "observation" in 1975, about the time he retired from the Air Force. "LWF" is the Air Force’s Lightweight Fighter program, which culminat...
Posted on December 1st, 2020
[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2610-S2613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COL. JOHN BOYD
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am very sad to report that Air Force
Col. John Boyd died in West Palm Beach, FL, on March 9, 1997.
He was 70 years old.
He passed away after a long and diffi...
Posted on December 1st, 2020
My co-editor, Chuck Spinney, and I have updated page 144 of Patterns of Conflict, the "Theme for Vitality and Growth." The last full edition of Patterns carries a date of December 1986. Even after he quit issuing new editions of the briefing, however, Boyd continued to evolve these ideas, and in 1989, he changed page 144 in a major way.
Here is page 144 in the 1986 edition:
What Boyd did was replace "adaptability" with "agility" and...
Posted on December 1st, 2020
Unlike "agility," Boyd did define "orientation," in Organic Design for Command and Control (1987).
Before giving his definition, he offered a preliminary thought, on page 13:
Orientation, seen as a result, represents images, views, or impressions of the world shaped by genetic heritage, cultural tradition, previous experiences, unfolding circumstances and the processes of analyses and synthesis. (Emphasis in original)
Sharp eyed ...
Posted on September 14th, 2020
My co-editor, Chuck Spinney, and I have updated page 144 of Patterns of Conflict, the "Theme for Vitality and Growth." The last full edition of Patterns carries a date of December 1986. Even after he quit issuing new editions of the briefing, however, Boyd continued to evolve these ideas, and in 1989, he changed page 144 in a major way.
Here is page 144 in the 1986 edition:What Boyd did was replace "adaptability" with "agility" and ...
Posted on May 24th, 2020
The concept of Auftragstaktik is more complicated than just "Tell them what to do, then walk away." The root of "Auftragstaktik" is a German word for "contract," and that’s how Boyd describes mission command in Patterns, (p. 76):
A contract, even a conceptual one, means negotiation and salesmanship, as you can see. For example, does the subordinate understand how their mission fits into the overall operational concept? Are you conf...
Posted on May 11th, 2020
January 4, 1981
Among fighter pilots, "getting inside" of an opponent in a dogfight often means the difference between life and death. Getting inside means turning and maneuvering more quickly than the enemy so you can fix your guns on his plane before he gets a good look at you.
For 25 years, John Boyd, once a topnotch fighter pilot and now a retired Air Force colonel, has wrestled with ideas about how to make that simple-sounding...
Posted on May 10th, 2020
Col. John Boyd (he died in 1997) is considered one of America's best military thinkers. His thinking dramatically influenced the plan of attack in the first gulf war. Boyd's thinking also serves as a good basis for a deeper understanding 4GW (fourth generation warfare).
Grand strategy, according to Boyd, is a quest to isolate your enemy's (a nation-state or a global terrorist network) thinking processes from connections to the e...
Posted on March 31st, 2020
The Norwegian Defense University has just published a new version of "Boyd’s OODA Loop" in their journal, Necesse, edited by Royal Norwegian Naval Academy. I had thought that the previous version was about as close to perfection as can be found on this Earth, but alas Necesse is a peer-reviewed journal, and "Reviewer No. 2" ripped it to shreds. After I calmed down, it was clear that Number 2 was right. So the edition published in the...
Posted on March 17th, 2020
Inner conflict: Dragons and OODA loops
Artem Grinblat
My fascination with dragons started when as a boy. I’ve heard that a crane would beat a snake, deflecting and countering with its beak, that tiger beats crane, overcoming its defences with a flurry of paws, that snake beats tiger, finding a gap for precision strike, and that dragon beats them all, having four legs as a tiger, tail as a snake and long neck as a crane.
...
Posted on August 26th, 2019
There are many phases of the creative process. One is overlooked more than any of the others. Inspiration, research, production, editing (refining), release, promotion. Most of these get their due.
I’m talking about the phase that comes between the inspiration and the core act of creation (and sometimes appears again briefly between the time the work is finished and the time it is released). It’s the most nerve-wracking and difficult...
Posted on August 26th, 2019
Inspiration is important. Your influences matter. But you also need time to process, reflect, and create your own connections before jumping into your next project. Whether that’s a book, startup, or scientific theory, the lesson holds true for artists, entrepreneurs, and scientists, alike.
Best-selling author, Ryan Holiday, refers to these as "drawdown periods." In the months leading up to writing a new book, Holiday guards himself...
Posted on July 6th, 2019
Genghis John
October 9, 1998
Comment: #199 Reference: "Genghis John," Proceeding of the US Naval Institute,
July 1997. Attached.It should now be clear to most readers of this list the
Defense Department is not adapting to the changing conditions brought about
by the end of the Cold War: We have a modernization plan that can not modernize
the force structure, a readiness nose dive, and a corrupt accounting...
Posted on June 28th, 2019
Boyd's Place in Modern StrategyThe Strategic Importance of
Boyd and the OODA LoopJust as (Edward) Luttwak's logic of paradox permeates all levels
and kinds of conflict, so Boyd's loop can apply to the operational, strategic,
and political levels of war, as well as to tactics for aerial dogfights. Boyd's theory claims that the key to success in conflict is to operate inside the opponent's decision cycl...
Posted on June 27th, 2019
Not John Boyd. But a good video, nonetheless.
Here’s Prof. Daniel Bonevac giving an introductory lecture on the OODA loop:
Professor Bonevac is a member of, and was formerly chair of, the Philosophy Department at the University of Texas. I don’t know when this lecture was given, but the video was posted in April of this year. One of the interesting things about it is that Professor Bonevac is teaching a class on Organizational Ethic...
Posted on June 27th, 2019
The Changing Face of War:
Into the Fourth GenerationWilliam S. Lind, Colonel
Keith Nightengale (USA),
Captain John F. Schmitt (USMC), Colonel Joseph W. Sutton (USA),
and Lieutenant Colonel Gary I. Wilson (USMCR)
Marine Corps
Gazette
October 1989, Pages 22-26The peacetime soldier's principal task is to prepare effectively
for the next war. In order to do so, he must anticipate what the next war will be
like. This is a difficult ...
Posted on June 26th, 2019
Warfighting Brought to You by . . .
By Major Jeffrey L. Cowan, U.S. Air Force
. . . several people, but most notably, an unlikely source. The
groundwork for the way the U.S. Marine Corps does business was laid by none
other than a retired Air Force officer, the irascible
John Boyd.Co-Winner, Marine Corps Essay Contest
http://www.proceedings.org/Proceedings/Articles01/PROcowan11.htm
Republished wi...
Posted on June 26th, 2019
Editor's note: The following paper is an example of what John Boyd called a "snowmobile," a synthesis of ideas from across a variety of domains (interested readers can see see how Boyd
develops the notion of "building snowmobiles" in his briefing,
Strategic Game of ? and ?, available
here on DNI, then
scroll down.)Snowmobiles result from analyses combined with trials at a synthesis. Since it is virtually imp...
Posted on June 26th, 2019
Thinking About Deception by Fred Feer
5 August 2004This brief paper discusses the most often asked questions about military
deception. What is it?Why do it?How do you measure its impact,
or, how do you calculate its contribution to winning?Can you rely on it?What is Deception?The answer to the first question is
misleadingly simple. The official definition is:
deception — Those measures designed to mislead the enemy b...
Posted on June 26th, 2019
October 31, 2005
Beyond Patterns of Conflict?
By Chet RichardsAs many readers of this site know, John Boyd was
heavily influenced by the ideas of the Austrian-American mathematician
Kurt Gödel, particularly, the notion of incompleteness. Although
Gödel worked in the rarified realm of foundations of mathematics, the
notion that no even moderately complex mathematical system can be complete
formed a critical elemen...
Posted on June 26th, 2019
Summary: What would a grand strategy for America look like? This critiques our current policies and Barnett’s proposals in terms our limited wisdom and power. It ends with recommendations for design of a modest but functional strategy for America.ContentsIntroductionWhat is grand strategy?Primal StrategiesGrand Strategies are a ChimeraBarnett’s Grand StrategyWhy do Grand Strategies Fail?America’s Need for a Humble Grand StrategyNatur...
Posted on June 25th, 2019
[July 1, 2007 – Of all the things Boyd wrote or said, we probably get the most requests for his "To be or to do?" invitation. Although Boyd associated with many junior officers during his Air Force career, there were a few, perhaps half a dozen, that he had such respect for that he invited them to join him on his quest for change. Each one would be offered the choice: Be someone – be recognized by the system and promoted – or do some...
Posted on June 24th, 2019
John Boyd may be the most remarkable unsung hero in all of American military history. Some remember him as the greatest U.S. fighter pilot ever -- the man who, in simulated air-to-air combat, defeated every challenger in less than forty seconds. Some recall him as the father of our country's most legendary fighter aircraft -- the F-15 and F-16. Still others think of Boyd as the most influential military theorist since Sun Tzu. They k...
Posted on June 9th, 2019
"To win wars, people come first, ideas second and hardware last."—Colonel John Boyd
As lawmakers and senior United States Air Force (USAF) officials debate A-10 divestment and alternate approaches to close air support (CAS) responsibilities, the divestment of the A-10 community, not the aircraft, poses the largest risk to the future of the mission. In Gen. David Goldfein’s nomination testimony, he rightly stated the A-10 community is...
Posted on March 24th, 2019
This is Tokyo, circa 1832. The print is "Nihonbashi no hakuu" by the Ukiyo-e master Andō Hiroshige. Many years ago, my wife found a copy in a consignment store in Atlanta. I don’t remember what she paid for it, but she assures me that framing it cost many times the purchase price. Since we’ve been here in South Carolina, we’ve had it reframed to show off the stamps and writing around the borders.
Intro to Chapter 6, Surprise and An...
Posted on December 21st, 2018
I tend to think of "agility" as adaptability with a time dimension, that is, the ability to adapt more rapidly to new situations than can competitors or opponents. That may not, however, be the only or even a very good way to think about these concepts. Here’s an alternative view:AQ is hot right now – but is it the Adaptability Quotient or the Agility Quotient?Kristopher Floyd
Founder and CEO, TeamMate AINovember 13, 2018
Originally...
Posted on June 4th, 2018
Notes: Trust your right-brained pattern-spotting. Be a skeptical, data-driven empiricist. Add a moral compass. Tie it all together with storytelling. Be aware of, and exploit, the flawed doctrines of others. Do not be concerned about the morality of this: doctrinal flaws provide the moral justification for their own exploitation
August 31, 2009 By Venkatesh Rao
Last fall, I spent a long weekend in the Outer Banks region, a few hour...
Posted on May 22nd, 2018
A Short Tutorial on the Moral Essence
of Grand Strategy
September 11, 2003
Comment: #491
Discussion Threads - Comment #s: 490
and referenced comments.
Attached References:
[Ref.1] Richard Bernstein,
"Foreign Views Of U.S. Darken Since Sept. 11," New York Times, September
11, 2003, Pg. 1
On the second anniversary of 9/11, the world-wide outpouring
sympathy a...
Posted on May 21st, 2018
What was Boyd thinking and when did he think it?In his own words:For the interested, a careful examination will reveal that the increasingly abstract discussion surfaces a process of reaching across many perspectives; pulling each and every one apart (analysis), all the while intuitively looking for those parts of the disassembled perspectives which naturally interconnect with one another to form a higher-order, more general elaborat...
Posted on May 1st, 2018
For months now, I’ve been thinking about a whole mess of related ideas with the aid of a Penrose triangle visualization of three key, interconnected loci that frame a sort of canvas on which life scripts (whether canned or improvised) play out. The three vertices are home, public and frontier. This is the simplest version of the visualization:Between home and public you find subcultures of being and identity, defined by the question,...
Posted on May 1st, 2018
Strategy is everywhere in our society. But strategy in practice seems to be a cruel and even silly joke. I learned that the hard way when I went to college long before I ever studied strategy formally. My own "strategy" about how to get through college collapsed virtually the moment I set foot on campus. I was living on my own for the first time and had never been outside of California’s perennial summer weather environment before. I...
Posted on May 1st, 2018
Make Your Own Rules
February 15, 2018 By Venkatesh Rao We seem to be in the middle of a renaissance of rules for life. Not since Robert Fulghum’s All I Really Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten (1987) and Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits (1989) has there been such a peak of interest in such rules. Then, as now, we were going through a period of deep global changes, and everybody was very anxious because nobody knew what the new rules...
Posted on May 1st, 2018
June 18, 2015 By Venkatesh Rao
If you’re a certain sort of metacognition-obsessed person, at some point in your intellectual wanderings, you will eventually run into a murky and illegible world of ideas and practices swirling around words and phrases like OODA loop, control the tempo, snowmobile, fast transient, maneuver warfare, E-M theory, inside the decision cycle of your adversary, fight the enemy, not the terrain, and be someb...
Posted on February 24th, 2018
Notes
Themes:
* Material reality versus the nature of being.
* Carl Jung and John Boyd regarding information, reality, orientation, and never having the ability to explain a system by looking into it because the nature of learning about the system changes your orientation.
* Seeking truth versus the other thing that is explained.
* Ideas have people versus people having ideas (from Carl Jung)
* Fractal localism and why the little act...
Posted on April 22nd, 2017
By William S. Lind
June 11, 2004
In my last column, I referenced "the canon," the seven books which, if read in the correct order, take the reader from the First Generation of modern war through the Second and Third Generations and into the Fourth. A number of people responded with requests for a description both of the canon and of the Four Generations, so here goes.
The First Generation of modern war began with the Peace of Westpha...
Posted on April 22nd, 2017
Why our greatest military theorist only made colonel.
John Boyd during the Korean War Off and on for about 20 years, I had the honor of working with the greatest military theorist America ever produced, Col. John Boyd, USAF. As a junior officer, Boyd developed the energy-management tactics now used by every fighter pilot in the world. Later, he influenced the designs of the F-15 and F-16, savin...