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Showing posts from March, 2013

Tactical Decision-Making: Accuracy versus Time

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If I were to ask a question, " What is 17 times 6? " there is only one truly correct answer. In math, solutions are objectively either correct or incorrect. Even during timed classroom quizzes, the answers to questions are graded completely on correctness. If it is not right, then it is wrong. The same cannot be said of decisions made in combat, or emergency trauma medicine, or fights, or sports, or car racing, or fire fighting, or tactical policing.  Decision that are timely and accurate are best. Answers to the questions begin to lose their status as being Right or Wrong. And another factor enters.....Time. The element of time encroaches on the mind's ability to calculate the perfect answer (if such thing even exists, which I argue rarely does). In the above listed realms, time matters. Sometimes more than the absolute correctness of the solution. Now before anyone slings "Objectively Reasonable" at me and claims Right or Wrong, let me defend m

Tactics' Most Important Questions: Why? and How?

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Why?  probes the reasoning or purpose behind a decision or action. How?  looks for answers regarding implementation or planning. Where are the answers to How? and Why? In the case of  Why? , the answer will be more conceptual or philosophical. Continued questions of  Why?  lead to answers of more importance and greater significance. For  How? , the answer will be more concrete or detailed. Continued questions of  How?  lead to answers of less importance and diminished worth.