An Army warning: overwhelmed by information

I was on the Metro idly reading "The Army Capstone Concept/ Operational Adaptability," which appears to have been published last month, when this section at the bottom of page 37 jumped out at me. Among the key required capabilities of battle command it lists is this:

Reduce information overload. More information does not impart better understanding. Because limitations associated with human cognition and because much of the information obtained in war is contradictory or false, more information does not equate to better understanding. Limits of aggregated data: although it will remain important to understand the systemic dimension of enemy organizations (such as command and control, logistics, financing, information operations, methods), the complexity and uniqueness of local conditions limit the value of aggregated data or metrics-based net assessments.

I know the concept isn’t new, but this is the first time I can recall an Army doctrinal document elevating the issue to key aspect of command. I take back some of the bad things I said about TRADOC recently.