Chinese Military Trains 'Human Abacuses' for Combat.
In a strategic maneuver that reads like a contingency plan ripped from a geopolitical risk assessment, China is reportedly training its soldiers to function as 'human abacuses,' resurrecting an ancient mental calculation technique to prepare for high-stakes combat scenarios where advanced technology could be compromised or jammed. This initiative, far from being a quaint historical exercise, represents a profound and calculated hedging strategy against the vulnerabilities inherent in modern networked warfare.The People's Liberation Army's (PLA) push to blend traditional methods—such as the abacus and paper-based calculations—with contemporary military doctrine signals a deep-seated awareness of the fragility of digital supremacy on the future battlefield. The state broadcaster CCTV provided a tangible case study in Captain Xu Meiduo, a standout officer in the PLA land forces, whose feats were showcased as the pinnacle of this program.Imagine a command post where digital screens have flickered out due to sophisticated electronic warfare attacks; in this scenario, Captain Xu and her ilk would become the central processing units, performing complex ballistic calculations, logistical tallies, and resource allocations entirely in their minds, effectively creating a decentralized, human-based backup grid impervious to cyber incursions. This is not merely about arithmetic; it's about building cognitive resilience.The broader context here is the escalating great-power competition, where the domains of conflict have expanded into cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum. The United States and its allies heavily predicate their military dominance on satellite networks, real-time data links, and AI-driven decision cycles.China's development of 'human abacuses' is a direct, albeit unorthodox, counter to this technological dependency. It’s a scenario planners' dream and nightmare: while the West invests billions in quantum computing and AI, a potential adversary is simultaneously investing in the oldest computer known to man—the human brain—to mitigate the risk of a catastrophic systems failure during a confrontation, say, over Taiwan or in the South China Sea.Historically, this has precedents. During the Cold War, both sides maintained hardened, analog fallbacks for their digital nuclear command systems.The Soviet Union was known for its extensive use of slide rules and mechanical calculators in its space program, even as it raced toward digitalization. China’s approach, however, systematizes this fallback into a core soldier skill set, elevating it from a last-ditch contingency to an integrated tactical capability.The potential consequences are multifaceted. On one hand, it could provide the PLA with a crucial asymmetric advantage in a degraded electronic environment, allowing for sustained operational tempo when an adversary is paralyzed.On the other hand, it raises serious questions about the human cost and the practicality of such training at scale. How many soldiers can truly achieve the proficiency of a Captain Xu? Does this divert resources from more critical high-tech training? Expert commentary would likely be divided.A military technologist might dismiss it as a desperate anachronism, arguing that no human can out-calculate a machine in processing power, and that the solution to electronic vulnerability is better electronic hardening and redundancy, not a retreat to the 19th century. A cognitive scientist or a special forces veteran, however, might argue that it fosters unparalleled situational awareness, mental discipline, and a deeper intuitive understanding of the battlefield calculus that screen-reliant soldiers often lose.From a risk-analysis perspective, this move is a classic signal of a nation preparing for worst-case scenarios. It indicates that Chinese military planners are not just thinking about winning a short, sharp war with superior technology, but also about enduring a protracted, brutal conflict where infrastructure is shattered and the digital realm is a contested wasteland.This 'cognitive hardening' of the rank and file complements China's documented investments in civil defense drills and infrastructure hardening. It suggests a holistic view of national security that embraces both the hyper-advanced and the decidedly low-tech, a dual-track approach designed to create a resilient and unpredictable adversary.The narrative extends beyond the military sphere into the ideological; state media's promotion of Captain Xu dovetails with the Communist Party's emphasis on discipline, tradition, and self-reliance, framing this not as a step backward but as a sophisticated fusion of Chinese heritage with modern necessities. In the grand chessboard of global power dynamics, this is a fascinating and unsettling move—one that challenges the very definition of technological superiority and forces a re-evaluation of what constitutes a critical vulnerability in the age of AI.
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