Confusion

Disciplines > Warfare > Principles > Confusion

Principle | Effect | Invoking | Analogy | See also

Principle

Confuse the enemy so they do not know which way to turn and will not expect what you do next.

Effect

When a person is confused they hesitate, wondering what will happen and what they should do.

In war, hesitation can be fatal when it hands the enemy the initiative, giving them first strike or the choice of the next move.

Hesitation by officers has a devastating amongst conscripts who assume that if officers are not sure what is going on then their doom is assured.

Invoking

Confusion is invoked when the enemy expects a particular thing to happen and then something else happens instead. This includes nothing happening when, for example, an attack was expected.

Confusion may also be invoked by acting unpredictably. The enemy will always be trying to second-guess you, typically by studying your past moves. If you deliberately break past patterns then their predictions will be wrong and their counter-moves counter-productive.

Analogy

In argument include random and unnecessary element in your arguments that make the other person wonder what you are doing and what it all means.