"turning inside"....................

 In all of Colonel Boyd's writing he emphasizes that victory in combat accrues to the decision-maker who can "get inside the decision loop" of his or her opponent.  This is precisely what happened in the climactic moment of the battle—Jones, despite having the weaker hand of cards, was moving more quickly to assess the situation (observe), analyze where the combat process was moving (orient), make swift choices (decide), and execute those decisions (act).  In this process Jones anticipated the celebrated OODA loop developed by Colonel John Boyd two centuries later to categorize airborne fighter combat.  In essence, Jones was "turning inside" the decision loop of his opponent, Captain Pearson.  And it made all the difference, meaning he was observing/orienting/deciding/acting much more quickly.

-Admiral James Stavridis, To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision, as extracted from his chapter describing how John Paul Jones and his ship, Bonhomme Richard, salvaged victory from certain defeat in the battle against the British warship, Serapis.   One version of the back story on the defining naval battle of the American Revolution may be found here.