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Old 04-23-2012, 21:25   #10
plato
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Currently based in the US
Posts: 414
Quote:
Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen View Post
I am curious.

Does the military select and train its officers to have a "bias for action"?
The black-and-white thinking versus open-ended ambiguity would seem to be the difference between bias for action and bias for waiting.
If not a bias for action, there is a definite bias for "Decide". The Wizard spoke of academics as "thinkers of great thoughts" with a degree in Thinkology. Good enough. Research and constant pondering are an interesting exercise, noncommital, and don't seem to require decision except for the decision concerning what to ponder next.
And, I submit that the difference between the soldier and the “pure academic” isn't particularly a military trait, but a natural disconnect of the latter. There may be some value to the individual who ponders the history of fire, but no need for him on the fire truck. There may be some value in researching whether a deteriorated heart valve was caused by diet, environment, or heredity. But the surgeon doesn’t need the researcher in the OR. He needs other hands-on “action” people, and I suspect he has little need for the opinionizing or “education” offered.
When your profession is one of “closing with and destroying” an enemy, 18th century political philosophy isn’t really all that interesting. Give me an algorithm, procedure, process to locate an enemy in less time (and there are such focused disciplines), and you have my total attention.
MOO, of course.
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