The following is a strategy game written by Colonel John Boyd, from his 1987 edition. This game used in a military presentation on maneuverability actually adapted the F-17 in the now still manufactured F-16 and F-18 that revolutionized Air Combat. I have used this game to illustrate our Awareness Intelligence (see the earlier post on AI) in an individual and illustrate both the AI Technique and Concept Reconstruction. So here is the game.
IMAGINE:
- Imagine that you are on a ski slope with other skiers. Retain this image.
- Imagine that you are in Florida riding in an outboard motorboat—maybe even towing water-skiers. Retain this image.
- Imagine that you are riding a bicycle on a nice spring day. Retain this image.
- Imagine that you are a parent taking your son to a department store and that you notice his fascination by the tractors or tanks with rubber treads. Retain this image.
NOW IMAGINE THAT:
- Pull skis off ski slope; discard and forget rest of image.
- Pull outboard motor out of motorboat; discard and forget rest of image.
- Pull handlebars off bicycle; discard and forget rest of image.
- Pull rubber treads off toy tractors or tanks; discard and forget rest of image.
What do we have? (Keep reading for the answer)
PURPOSE OF THE ABOVE GAME:
To discern what is going on we must interact in different ways with our environment. As we develop our awareness we need to be able to look at the world from a number of perspectives so that we can understand the images or impressions that correspond to that perception. We use this scheme of pulling things apart (deduction) and putting them back together (induction) in new combinations to find how apparently unrelated ideas and actions are related to one another. The speed with which we answer in the above game measures, or at least I speculate measures, our capacity for AI. The quicker we respond the greater our AI.
In my short experiment with this game I have found that some people quickly get confused and refuse to answer (OBSERVE and chose not to DESTROY), some people (OBSERVE and DESTROY partially) and try to guess with close answers, and the third-party moves quickly through the process (OBSERVE, DESTROY, RECONSTRUCT or INDICATOR, CONNECT TO EFFECT, CA– USE). The person with the quickest answer responded in less than .5 seconds with the correct answer. This person was a former F-16 pilot. He gave the correct answer, which is obvious; a snowmobile.