Autonomic Computing idea is to automate process of managing software by Monitoring Analysis Planing and Execution (MAPE loop). This concept is a all the rave in Enterprise Systems nowadays. In a paper “Understanding Information Age Warfare” I found a similar concept applied to human cognition. It appears that Colonel John R. Boyd observed a similar loop by analyzing actions of American pilots achieving 10-to-1 kill ratio over enemy aircraft. Boyd attributes this high ratio to the speed with which American pilots were able to move through Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) loop using tools provided by F-86s aircraft.

See Boyd’s presentation dated August 1996