fandomhigh | Ethics [Thursday, January 20th, 1st period]

Anakin had sighed a little heavily when he'd realized what the class topic today was: misplaced pride in his ability to save Raven from his father had led to absolute disaster that weekend. None of that showed in his expression, which was slightly severe than usual as he walked into the classroom and wrote Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important.--TS Eliot on the board and then turned around to face his students, passing out a sheet of paper. "Today we begin our discussion of the seven deadly sins. While the 'if you indulge in these vices, you're doomed for eternal damnation' religious dogma seems a bit dramatic to me, I believe there is something universal in the call of the vices they chose to highlight: wrath, pride, gluttony, sloth, greed, lust and envy. Pride--or hubris, if you speak Latin--is considered the original and most serious of the deadly sins. We want to believe that we are different, better than everyone around us. And in a school where most of you have extraordinary powers, titles or both, many of you have been told for years how special you are." His gaze sharpened. "But everything is connected. You, me, the rocks outside, the deer in the preserve, the beings who live across the causeway, the trillions who make up the multiverse around us. Those who hold themselves to be better than all of the rest of us generally learn the hard way how untrue that is."

He leaned back against his desk. "I grew up as a slave on a desolate planet beyond the normal reaches of the law in my society. When I was rescued by Jedi and told that with training, I could be like them, my pride in myself and my abilities quickly spiraled into arrogance and disdain for those who were teaching me. It took some very difficult lessons for me to realize that pride was--is-- probably my greatest fault."

He glanced into the distance for a moment, stuck in memories of the weekend before shaking his head and continuing. "Learning to swallow our pride and admit we're not quite as special or brilliant as we thought we were is never a fun process," he continued. "Have you met someone here who is better than you at something you'd always taken for granted you were superior?" He smiled a little ruefully. "I am the fulfillment of prophecy and the most powerful Jedi in terms of raw power in the history of my Order. And then I met a god."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Full of misplaced pride!

Read about the seven deadly sins! Decide if you think some need to be taken off and replaced with other things! Take a nap!

...wouldn't recommend taking a nap.

"Have you met someone here who is better than you at something you'd always taken for granted you were superior?"

Anakin still resents Hades for being so...godlike. Bastard.

While he stares at you and maybe lifts his eyebrows.

Who isn't brooding broodily. Really!

Many, many thanks to the fake Germans for taking over my class last week. Stupid computer...

Dolf Wega

Peter Bishop

See, and Dolf was almost feeling relieved that the question was 'have you met someone who turned out to be better than you' rather than 'has your pride ever gotten a sizable amount of children killed'.

The 'almost' was mostly because the discussion topic itself made him think of the latter event, and now he was poking listlessly at his notepad.

"Honestly, not yet," Peter said, smug bastard. "And the key there is remembering that even if there's one or two people smarter than me around here, I'm still smarter than the rest of everyone."

Oh, Peter. While he'd said it partially as a joke against his ego... he kind of meant it, too.

Katniss Everdeen

"Depends on the kind of 'smart' you mean," Katniss said, immediately wary of Peter's attitude. "Being able to do complicated math problems isn't very useful if someone's a better strategist than you. What's the phrase? 'Street smarts'?"

"I haven't," Katniss said carefully. "I really haven't. It doesn't mean they aren't here, and I try not to let myself be cocky about that. Getting smug about your own abilities makes you blind to what other people can do, until they've bested you with something else."

That was how she'd lost Rue, after all. She'd been so sure of their own cleverness and her ability to protect Rue in time.

"It's not like I plan to be pitted against anyone in a duel of wits to the death," Peter said, chuckling. "But I definitely get what you're saying. I mean, people can beat me at chess, people can solve complex maths faster than I can. But I'm pretty sure, pit me against any non-telepath and I'll come out on top in a poker game. Especially if I'm dealing."

"So you cheat," Katniss deduced.

"Depends on your definition of cheating," Peter said. "Dealing just gives you control over the deck. Which means you can make sure no one else is cheating, too. No, the power of poker isn't entirely in the cards, any way. It's in reading people, and knowing when to hold them and fold them, as the song goes. But yeah, a lot of it is knowing how to outsmart people. Make them comfortable and get them to make mistakes."

Katniss nodded thoughtfully, then offered, "You should expand that. -- your ability to read people, if it's what you claim. There's more to life than card games, and -- well, where I'm from, at least, the national sport is a little more cutthroat than poker, but your skills would still be applicable." A pause, and then, "Of course, as far as this island goes, it sounds like telepaths still have one up on you."

"Oh, absolutely," Peter said. "That I'm not refuting in the least. Poker was just the easiest example to bring into things. And I've got a lot to learn, too. Hell, half the cues I can pick up on are Western-Civilization based. If I ended up in Japan or China, it'd be a whole new body language that I'd need to learn. Learning a foreign language is one thing, learning the body tics are another."

"And yeah, telepaths kind of ruin the party a bit. I'm trying to figure out ways to beat them, though. You know, thinking really hard about things in your mind's-eye or whatever, try to throw them off the scent as it were."

"I, personally, might not declare that I'm smarter than everyone on a general basis, if I can offer a little advice," Katniss offered. "Tends to give someone a target to shoot for, so to speak. This class being an exception, since he asked, but...that just makes me want to prove you wrong, you know?"

"I don't typically declare it," Peter said. "That puts peoples guards up. Or, as you said, paints a bullseye on my ass. And while I can learn more from somebody outsmarting me, I don't typically enjoy that experience."

He smiled. "Are you still wanting to prove me wrong about something?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure it's going to happen in this classroom," Katniss mused, smiling a little bit. "You should go into politics. You've defended yourself well."

"Ow," Peter said. "I need to work on my image, if I seem slimy enough to be a politician. A life feeding off the hard work of others... okay, very possibly in my future, but I plan on only feeding off people who deserve to have money leeched out of them."

Anakin waited until Peter's conversation with Katniss had wrapped up before offering his own opinion.

"It seems to me that you set very specific parameters in order to remain superior," he offered. "Perhaps those who are smarter than you are being wise and avoiding you."

Anakin nodded. "Quite true," he agreed. "I thought I was quite adept with a lightsaber until my son came along and showed me how much I still needed to learn. It was a rather painful experience."

Quinn Fabray

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Ethics [Thursday, January 20th, 1st period]

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