Four Ounces Move a Thousand Pounds

CORE DEFINITION

Four ounces move a thousand pounds is a principle from taiji theory, which holds that a small force applied at the right point and at the right time can redirect a far larger one, instead of meeting it head on. As a decision model it argues that a strong opponent or a large problem is best engaged at its structural weakness or along the direction its own weight is already moving. Its core proposition is that leverage replaces effort, and that a real fulcrum is a necessary condition for the trick. The key qualification is that the small force must find a genuine point of purchase, or it is simply a smaller force losing.