The Art of War was one of the first recorded books written on the subject of warfare and its relation to various topics of politics, ethics, etc.
Its historically noteworthy, but very outdated by now.
The principles it states may still hold true, but Sun Tzu wrote the during pre-industrial, pre-nuclear, pre-modern war era.
Things like tanks, machine guns, modern communications, atom bombs, and dozens of other things I probably haven’t even thought of have changed the way we live and the way we war.
Clear thinker Sun Tzu may have been, but his thoughts were from a past age.
[quote]Natasel wrote:
The Art of War was one of the first recorded books written on the subject of warfare and its relation to various topics of politics, ethics, etc.
Its historically noteworthy, but very outdated by now.
The principles it states may still hold true, but Sun Tzu wrote the during pre-industrial, pre-nuclear, pre-modern war era.
Things like tanks, machine guns, modern communications, atom bombs, and dozens of other things I probably haven’t even thought of have changed the way we live and the way we war.
Clear thinker Sun Tzu may have been, but his thoughts were from a past age.[/quote]
Not true.
The nature of warfare, while it has changed some due to technological advances, is exactly the same as it has always been.
The principles of fighting defensively, not making mistakes, using misdirection and flanking maneuvers, ambushes and traps, handling your troops well, etc. never go out of style. Ever.
And these can be broken down to fit urban warfare, conventional warfare, etc. It just takes some thinking out of the box… which it doesn’t seem like you’re adept at.
[quote]Natasel wrote:
The Art of War was one of the first recorded books written on the subject of warfare and its relation to various topics of politics, ethics, etc.
Its historically noteworthy, but very outdated by now.
The principles it states may still hold true, but Sun Tzu wrote the during pre-industrial, pre-nuclear, pre-modern war era.
Things like tanks, machine guns, modern communications, atom bombs, and dozens of other things I probably haven’t even thought of have changed the way we live and the way we war.
Clear thinker Sun Tzu may have been, but his thoughts were from a past age.[/quote]
His 13 essays are as valuable now as ever. This is one book that can be use by the military and the general public. The knowledge contained in these writings are timeless.
Although I have not studied his writings for some time. I still remember so much, because it is so useful.
I really enjoy his understanding of the function of spies. The winner always has the best spy network.
[quote]Natasel wrote:
The Art of War was one of the first recorded books written on the subject of warfare and its relation to various topics of politics, ethics, etc.
Its historically noteworthy, but very outdated by now.
The principles it states may still hold true, but Sun Tzu wrote the during pre-industrial, pre-nuclear, pre-modern war era.
Things like tanks, machine guns, modern communications, atom bombs, and dozens of other things I probably haven’t even thought of have changed the way we live and the way we war.
Clear thinker Sun Tzu may have been, but his thoughts were from a past age.[/quote]
The human brain has changed minimally. Not enough to notice anyhow. The principles still apply. As far as industrialization; the book still sticks to Taoist principles of simplicity. The machinery can be as complex as we can make it. The motives used to drive those machines remains simple as us.
The art of war it’s a really good book, but you have to understand that it was written in chinese, and it went translated into many languages, so you have to read almost three different versions-traductions of the book, for getting the real meaning of the book.
I recomend you also the Gorin no sho, of Miyamoto Musashi -the strategy is in every aspect of the life- and the Hagakure, those are damn good books
[quote]jzzz wrote:
dollarbill44 wrote:
jzzz wrote:
These days officers just sit around computers and play a military version of command and conquer.
I hope you’re being sarcastic. Otherwise, you have no knowledge of the military.
DB
five years sigs, one year of that was working with the program :)[/quote]
Okay, well that explains your viewpoint. As a logistics officer, my viewpoint is very different from yours. Most officers (in the Army at least) are not sitting behind a monitor “playing games”, but are on the ground, getting shot at like the enlisteds.
