Toward a Calculus of Scenarios

Carl H. Builder

ResearchPublished 1983

The author of this Note speculates about the possibility and desirability of developing a formal calculus for evaluating scenarios. Scenarios are an essential element of military planning. The author argues for the need of a calculus--a rigorous method for evaluation--of the scenarios used in military planning studies. The purpose of the calculus is not to generate scenarios, but to evaluate them within some commonly shared framework or set of rules. A two-dimensional structure for evaluating scenarios is suggested as an illustration of how formal procedures might be employed to diagram a scenario, much as a sentence or electrical circuit is diagramed. A calculus of scenarios, if developed along the lines proposed in the Note, would enable the defender and critic of a scenario to reason together about its omissions, inconsistencies, and uncertainties.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web-Only
  • Year: 1983
  • Paperback Pages: 37
  • Document Number: N-1855-DNA

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Builder, Carl H., Toward a Calculus of Scenarios, RAND Corporation, N-1855-DNA, 1983. As of September 5, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/notes/N1855.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Builder, Carl H., Toward a Calculus of Scenarios. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1983. https://www.rand.org/pubs/notes/N1855.html.
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