Obliquity means not explicit or directly to the desired point. For example in trying to land a rocket on the moon one does not project the rocket directly at the moon, one would direct it slightly off from the most direct line and let the gravity of the moon catch it and bring it into the desired final point, thus using an oblique trajectory. Because complex systems are nonlinear, meaning there is no direct cause and effect, the outcomes to the system are an emergent phenomenon we can not directly affect them. Efforts to impose linear thinking on complex situations have often led to the opposite of what was intended. To achieve desirable results it is often necessary to aim around the phenomenon one wishes to effect in focusing on the component’s interactions that are giving rise to this emergent outcome, that is to say, taking an oblique approach to dealing with complex systems.