As a recent graduate in engineering, I have discovered that no one can truly understand something unless he can describe it in mathematical terms. I have always wondered if this philosophy has ever been applied to war fighting. I realize that war fighting is a highly nonlinear and uncertain process, but the mathematical tools still exist to at least attempt a mathematical theory of warfare. In particular, the tools of stochastic calculus (probability theory with derivatives, integrals, and vectors in it) can be used to generate crude models that predict a well-defined probability for victory in some arbitrary engagement.
Does anyone know if this has ever been attempted? Any references? It probably would not be immediately useful from a practical perspective, but at the very least it could help to quantify certain relationships in mathematical terms.
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