I am a big fan of Clausewitz’s observation that war is simple and the simplest things are very complex. It’s an apparent paradox with which I’m very comfortable but then I don’t have to do anything more than sit in a comfortable chair and read about it (or occasionally study how it is reflected in the war game I’m learning to play). I wonder if mastery of a particular form of war, or long experience in a particular time and place provides sufficient familiarity to make it seem simple? Which simplicity is then lost when one or other sides introduces a new weapon or a novel tactic with an old weapon?
Great questions. The difficulty is that the adversary normally does not conform to our plans or procedures, which increases the complexity. It is a constant struggle to impose problems on the adversary, which often simply means that you introduce a large number of (small) problems, thus making the familiar parts more complex. Introducing new weapons is more about creating uncertainty which also increases the perceived complexity. Your questions are important, because it forces us to think more thoroughly about what we mean when using this vocabulary. Especially the world complexity has a strong impact on the framing of whatever it is you designate as being complex..
I am a big fan of Clausewitz’s observation that war is simple and the simplest things are very complex. It’s an apparent paradox with which I’m very comfortable but then I don’t have to do anything more than sit in a comfortable chair and read about it (or occasionally study how it is reflected in the war game I’m learning to play). I wonder if mastery of a particular form of war, or long experience in a particular time and place provides sufficient familiarity to make it seem simple? Which simplicity is then lost when one or other sides introduces a new weapon or a novel tactic with an old weapon?
Great questions. The difficulty is that the adversary normally does not conform to our plans or procedures, which increases the complexity. It is a constant struggle to impose problems on the adversary, which often simply means that you introduce a large number of (small) problems, thus making the familiar parts more complex. Introducing new weapons is more about creating uncertainty which also increases the perceived complexity. Your questions are important, because it forces us to think more thoroughly about what we mean when using this vocabulary. Especially the world complexity has a strong impact on the framing of whatever it is you designate as being complex..