There is a great secret to securing most wins that I get. That secret is setting the terms so that no matter which way a contest wins my plans advance. That's all you need to read if you are just in this for strategy. The rest of this is going to be rambling about particulars.
Growing up I was a big fan of the show Gargoyles. It was a typical 90s cartoon action drama aimed at kids and teens. However the startling high points of the show were it's villains. Not going into any of the other cool ones; my favorite was David Xanatos. In addition to the strong biblical overtones (the hero was named Goliath) there were alusions to myths and legends. His hallmark was creating plans which always ended with him winning, even if the hero defeated him. The TV Tropes wiki calls this the Xanatos Gambit.
The Xanatos Gambit to me represents the ultimate in strategic thinking in that there is no way to defeat someone using it. Obi Wan in the original Star Wars is the best example of this. Even when he got killed it just allowed him to be anywhere he needed to be at just the right moment, which fit into his plan. Granted that particular variant was never tried by the original character in the show (cannon wise anyway). I think the whole death not death gambit is the easiest to win, at least for me. If someone were to try to kill me either way they would lose. If they killed me, I'd be getting what I want given my previously demonstrated lack of enthusiasm for living. If they allowed me to survive I doubt they would. For one I'm fierce backed into a corner. Another factor is that once someone has gone to a certain level I have no limits on how far I will go for revenge. Well, one limit: I won't kill myself trying to avenge my own almost death. The math doesn't work for that one.
So today I experienced a new level of how effective the gambit is in practice. I have been facing off against an unfreindly future, and I had already made my plans assuming that was coming. Now I come to find out... well it's a lot more unsure than I was previously led to believe. Hence the future is split binary between a continuation of the present situation and a new vista. Either one is fine with me is the thing. I progress the exact same amount towards my goal going down either path. So I will admit I don't win all the time. The fact is that I still haven't figured out how to plan effectively enough to achieve the totality of the gambit.
Growing up I was a big fan of the show Gargoyles. It was a typical 90s cartoon action drama aimed at kids and teens. However the startling high points of the show were it's villains. Not going into any of the other cool ones; my favorite was David Xanatos. In addition to the strong biblical overtones (the hero was named Goliath) there were alusions to myths and legends. His hallmark was creating plans which always ended with him winning, even if the hero defeated him. The TV Tropes wiki calls this the Xanatos Gambit.
The Xanatos Gambit to me represents the ultimate in strategic thinking in that there is no way to defeat someone using it. Obi Wan in the original Star Wars is the best example of this. Even when he got killed it just allowed him to be anywhere he needed to be at just the right moment, which fit into his plan. Granted that particular variant was never tried by the original character in the show (cannon wise anyway). I think the whole death not death gambit is the easiest to win, at least for me. If someone were to try to kill me either way they would lose. If they killed me, I'd be getting what I want given my previously demonstrated lack of enthusiasm for living. If they allowed me to survive I doubt they would. For one I'm fierce backed into a corner. Another factor is that once someone has gone to a certain level I have no limits on how far I will go for revenge. Well, one limit: I won't kill myself trying to avenge my own almost death. The math doesn't work for that one.
So today I experienced a new level of how effective the gambit is in practice. I have been facing off against an unfreindly future, and I had already made my plans assuming that was coming. Now I come to find out... well it's a lot more unsure than I was previously led to believe. Hence the future is split binary between a continuation of the present situation and a new vista. Either one is fine with me is the thing. I progress the exact same amount towards my goal going down either path. So I will admit I don't win all the time. The fact is that I still haven't figured out how to plan effectively enough to achieve the totality of the gambit.
No comments:
Post a Comment