p.4-5 Taking his cue from what he learned in air-to-air combat in Korea, the essence of Boyd's thought
is rooted in something called the OODA loop, or Boyd Cycle. OODA stands for observation, orientation, decision, action.
The first element, observation, is sensing yourself and the world around you. The second, orientation, is the complex set
of filters of genetic heritage, cultural predisposition, personal experience, and knowledge. The third is decision, the review
of alternative course of action and the selection of the preferred course as a hypothesis to be tested, and the fourth is
action, the testing of the decision selected by implementation. The notion of the loop, the constant repetition of the OODA
cycle, is the essential connection that is repeated again and again
p.20-21 Boyd liked putting things together (synthesis) better than analysis (taking things apart),
but he learned to do both well. He used a learning style that would trip over an insight and then try to find the question
for which it was an answer.
p.30-31 Another thing happened in pilot training in Mississippi: Boyd learned to learn for himself.
He was autodidactic, self-taught, in almost everything he did... The great majority of what Boyd learned, he learned
on his own.
p.57 From then on he worked on creating what became the energy maneuverability theory.
EM, as it came to be called, was a way to plot not just the basic characteristics (how far, how fast, how high) of a given
airplane but also the mathematically plotted maneuverability of it at different altitudes, g forces, turning radii, and so
on. He could plot a graph for each plane and specify the conditions. Furthermore, he could compare the graphs of different
planes and determine at what points (altitude, g force, speed, etc.) one plane had an advantage over another. Such information
would obviously be valuable to pilots in air-to-air combat. It was also a new way to compare capabilities between nations
before the actual encounters took place in air-to-air combat. By using these diagrams, designers could see exactly
where, when, how, and under what conditions one plane could gain an advantage over another. It was that sort of breakthrough
thinking that could revolutionize fighter design.
p.62-63 [Brig. Gen. Allman Culbertson speaking to John Boyd] "...there's no way you can get those computer
resources without having a project number and a budget for it."
Boyd answered, "Do you really believe that now? I can steal computer time on any computer
you have in this whole command and you would never know it if I did not want you to."
p.164 In short, one's orientation to the world is one's understanding of reality... To be successful
one needs to create mental images, views, or impressions (patterns) that match with the activity of the world. Moreover,
one needs to deny the adversary the possibility of uncovering or discerning patterns that match one's activity... "One cannot
determine the character or nature of a system within itself. Moreover, attempts to do so lead to confusion and disorder."
p.165 The OODA loop can be thought of as the C&C [JLJ - command and control] loop. Once again, it
is the second O, orientation... that is the most important part of the OODA loop, since it shapes the way one observes, decides,
and acts.
p.173 The bottom line, given all of this, is simple. If one cannot eliminate these [JLJ - the emergent properties
of operating in an uncertain environment], one must continue the whirl of reorientation, mismatches, analyses, and syntheses
to comprehend, shape, and adapt to an unfolding, evolving reality that remains uncertain, ever-changing, and unpredictable.
Uncertainty is a basic human condition. It is what we do with it that counts... The conceptual spiral really is a
paradigm for survival and growth... one must exploit this whirling conceptual spiral of orientation, mismatches, analyses-syntheses,
so that we can comprehend, cope with, shape, and be shaped by the world and the novelty that arises out of it.
p.191 we are faced with a dynamic, novel, unstable world that we must constantly adapt to even as
we try to shape it for our own ends.
p.191 Not being able to read the environment and take advantage of opportunities that it presents
is the essence of original sin, in Boyd's catechism. OODA loops are the answer. From that process come the possibilities
for success, failure, life, and death. Coming to grips with these opportunities or threats faster than others gives us greater
advantage still. A failure to recognize these truths will mean we fail to survive and prosper.
p.195 What Boyd is all about is a way of thinking and the creation of organizations and organisms that are
adaptive and capable of rapidity, variety, harmony, and initiative. Only in this way can they hope to survive and prosper
in the face of complex change and uncertainty.
