“Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.”

The 33 Strategies of War, Strategy 10, Deterrence Strategies

In many ways, power and status are simply illusions.

We might even go as far to say that reality as a whole is an illusion, but we shall leave that rabbit hole alone for now.

What this means in terms of power is that public perception often plays a far larger role in war than we realise.

The control of resources, the initiation of battles, and the targeting by others, are predominantly determined by appearances, not data.

To fully comprehend this notion, we must better understand the general relationship between human nature and war.