comments on "these guys"

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
Date: October 18, 2009 8:03:52 AM EDT
To: Scott Alexander <salex () dsalex org>
Cc: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: comments on "these guys"

Scott - I did not mean that DARPA in general or the specific PMs are  
idiots - far from it!  When I said "these guys", I was referring to  
the system they operate in.  In the area of making the

By advising, I meant something very specific: advising on the  
*framing* of problems by the DoD by people who have a broad  
perspective and are not entangled in the perverse incentives of the  
DoD community.  There's not a lot of advising of this sort that is  
possible.

I've been part of the "advising" process as a member of ISAT, so I  
know that there are some channels for advice. But almost all of the  
advice actually given in such contexts is narrow, technical, and  
unable to challenge the cultural assumptions and framing of the larger  
issues that the military faces.  For the last decade or so this was  
really problematic: the management style was to shut down any creative  
exploration of the problems, in favor of setting very tight  
constraints, deadlines, and competitions (why are the contractees  
called "performers" unless they are viewed as puppets who have very  
little scope of action beyond performing to the tune of the PM).

For example, BAAs and proposal days are fora where offering advice of  
that sort is a waste of time, and likely seen as rude.  And once a  
contract is awarded, redefining the goals to solve the "real problem"  
is fraught with the problem of "missing milestones".

DARPA PMs these days have very limited scope of action. They have to  
worry about their careers, whether they are academic, military  
contractor, or military in the long run.  Careerism is a major problem  
in the DoD technology space as a whole, and it's become a major  
problem in academia over the last 20 years or so.  Would I advise a PM  
to question the wisdom of the way a particular military problem is  
framed by a branch of the military?  Would I advise a PM to invent the  
Internet of today and seek to implement it?  It would be a huge risk  
to their careers, whether they are academic or military.

Thus, "you can't advise the guys".

- David







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