“Mad Major” John Boyd, quoted above*, is an undeclared American hero. 

Personally I am not a fan - war is not a arena that engages my respect – and I am not fool enough to ignore valuable insights into human behaviour from whence ever they arise.

Boyd declared this idea to his phenomenally successful American fighter pilots, and the idea is also a central premise within Alexander’s evolutionary theory. It’s all carefully laid out in by F.M. in his laboriously written first section of CCCI, but it’s way more interesting to consider Boyd’s take on the subject.