Cybernetic paralysis drives an organized system into disorganization by destroying the coherence, connection and flow of information among the component parts of a complex system. The very richness of these interactions allows the system as a whole to undergo spontaneous self-organization . . . . These complex, self-organizing systems are adaptive, in that they . . . Finally, every one of these complex, self-organizing, adaptive systems possesses a kind of dynamism that makes them quantitatively different from static objects. . . . 11 Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher of war, noted the same phenomenon.
Apparent confusion is a product of good order.
The German notion of auftragstaktik, for example, is based on the self-organizing ability of tactical units and local commanders. It is important, therefore, to note how military systems and other self-organizing complex systems differ from biological systems. For biological systems like the human body, paralysis is total in the sense that a person with a broken neck does not experience a sudden self-organization and control of his limbs. An army, on the other hand, may suffer complete cybernetic collapse the analogue to a broken neck but spontaneously reorganize at lower echelons of command and continue on with its mission. If an enemy still has the will to fight, his fate will have to be decided with a simple bullet rather than a complicated piece of hardware or an elaborate scheme of maneuver.