Design Theory and the Military's Understanding of Our Complex World

Abstract

Before readers pull their hair out in frustration at yet another "Design" article with too much philosophy, abstraction, and unorthodox thinking, I offer an intellectual olive branch of sorts. There is a reason hardly any of these Design concepts will ever enter Army doctrine, or become a step within a planning process?to think about Design requires us to think from a different perspective- a perspective that lacks the very things we hold dearest to how we function and plan as a military. Design logic requires us to let go of how we are used to thinking, and embrace uncertainty for a bit. If any of the post-modern and highly abstract concepts offered in this article help generate some discourse, creative or critical thinking, then these Design concepts have potentially armed the reader with another arrow for his quiveralbeit a "crooked" arrow. And when the day comes that one must fire at an unexpected "crooked" target, their planning quiver will hold just the right munition to fire away.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 07, 2011
Accession Number
ADA547529

Entities

People

  • Ben Zweibelson

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Complex Systems
  • Computers
  • Differential Equations
  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Language
  • Marine Corps
  • Materials
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Planning
  • Military Science
  • New York
  • Revolutions
  • Training
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.