Crowdsourcing is an effective tool for harvesting ideas, thoughts, and concepts from a wide variety of interested individuals, helping to diversify thought and challenge conventional assumptions. Army Mad Scientist seeks to crowdsource the intellect of the Nation (i.e., you — our community of action!) with our Back to the Future Writing Contest. Entries should address one of the following three suggested topics:
Topic #1: We often hear the phrase, “History Repeats Itself.” While this idea is questionable, our perceived history
definitely shapes our mental models about future possibilities. How can history inform us about the future of competition and conflict?
Points to Consider:
Lessons from the Cold War: “The Ugly American” and Multi-Domain Operations
Why the Next “Cuban Missile Crisis” Might Not End Well: Cyberwar and Nuclear Crisis Management
Jomini’s Revenge: Mass Strikes Back!
Making the Future More Personal: The Oft-Forgotten Human Driver in Future’s Analysis
Topic #2: The convergence of horses, stirrups, and armor provided warriors with mobility and shock, enabling heavy cavalry to dominate the battlefield in the 4th to 14th Centuries AD. Similarly, the technological convergence of the internal combustion engine, hardened steel, caterpillar tracks, breech loading cannon, and radio communications revitalized the concept of heavy cavalry, enabling mechanized force mobility and firepower to dominate land warfare for the past century. How could the convergence of new, emergent technologies similarly revitalize past warfighting concepts to change the character of warfare? What new Soldier Knowledges, Skills, and Behaviors will be required to execute these concepts?
Points to Consider:
Speed, Scope, and Convergence Trends
Table of Future Technologies: A 360 Degree View Based on Anticipated Availability
Estimation of Technological Convergence by 2035
The Convergence: The Next Ten Years of Tech with Eli Dourado and associated podcast
Ground Warfare in 2050: How It Might Look
Potential Game Changers handout
Topic #3: Our perceived history shapes our mental models and can be the source of blind spots and biases. The Mad Sci community often asks ourselves where a divergence from our past experiences might create a disadvantage or surprise. How could our future be different than our past experiences and what are the potential surprises or disadvantages?
Points to Consider:
Bias, Behavior, and Baseball with Keith Law and associated podcast
The Case for Restructuring the Department of Defense to Fight in the 21st Century
Weighing Effort in the Future Strategic Environment 2028-2035
The Classified Mind – The Cyber Pearl Harbor of 2034
An Appropriate Level of Trust…
Entries will be accepted in two formats:
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- A written essay (no more than 1500 words, please!)
- A tweet @ArmyMadSci using #MadSciBacktotheFuture
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We will pick a winner from each of these two formats! Contest Winners will be proclaimed official Mad Scientists with their submissions featured here in the Mad Scientist Laboratory. Semi-finalists of merit will also be published!
Suspense: All entries are due NLT 11:59pm Eastern on January 13, 2023!
This contest is open to any and every one — multiple submissions are encouraged!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: madscitradoc@gmail.com
For additional ideas, check out the following previous Mad Scientist contest submissions of note:
The Future of the AI Battlefield:
The Guy Behind the Guy: AI as the Indispensable Marshal, by Brady Moore and Chris Sauceda
The Human Targeting Solution: An AI Story, by CW3 Jesse R. Crifasi
The Operational Environment: What Will Change and What Will Drive It – Today to 2035?
Splinternets, by proclaimed Mad Scientist Howard R. Simkin
The Operational Environment in 2035 Writing Contest:
Louisiana Maneuvers for the Age of Artificial Intelligence, by proclaimed Mad Scientist MAJ Michael B. Kim
The Information Disruption Industry and the Operational Environment of the Future, by proclaimed Mad Scientist Vincent H. O’Neil
Military Implications of Smart Cities, by Alexander Braszko, Jr.
Information Warfare Vignettes Writing Contest:
Three Best Information Warfare Vignettes, by proclaimed Mad Scientist Davis Ellison, Tony Stark, and Rob Kunzig
Competition, Crisis, Conflict, and Change Writing Contest:
The U.S. Joint Force’s Defeat before Conflict, by proclaimed Mad Scientist CPT Anjanay Kumar
The Future of War is Cyber! by CPT Casey Igo and CPT Christian Turley
A House Divided: Microtargeting and the next Great American Threat, by 1LT Carlin Keally
CALLING ALL CREATORS ~ An Army Mad Scientist Multi-Media Contest:
Kryptós, by proclaimed Mad Scientist CPT Katherine Hathaway
2nd Dense Urban Armored Brigade (DUAB) Personnel Evaluations, by Ed dos Santos, Jr.
Fall / Winter 2021 Writing Contest:
OASIS: A North American Proving Ground, by proclaimed Mad Scientist Steve Pomper
The Army’s Next Failed War: Large Scale Combat Operations, by proclaimed Mad Scientist MAJ Anthony Joyce
On Surprise Attacks Below the “Bolt from the Blue” Threshold, by Lesley Kucharski
