Ghanima Atreides (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
atreideslioness) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2016-02-02 10:29 pm
atreideslioness) wrote in fandomhigh2016-02-02 10:29 pm
Entry tags:
Diplomacy, Relationships, & Tactics: The Art of War, Week 5 [Wednesday, Period 2]
There were tables set up around the classroom today with board games, as well as a couple of computer workstations.
"So," Tahiri said when everyone appeared to be present, "we're going to talk about tactical disposition today. What Sun Tzu had to say about that is: 'The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.'"
She made a face. "I know that sounds like a lot of pressure to be perfect. But if it helps any, he goes on to say, 'To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy themself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure themself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.' Victory depends as much on being able to use your opponent's mistakes and weaknesses against them as it does your own efforts not to make any mistakes yourself. But . . . it's pretty hard to be able to predict mistakes if you've never made any yourself, right?"
"So today, you're going to get the chance to make mistakes in a secure environment, with nothing on the line except your pride," Ghanima added, holding up a chess piece. "'Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.'"
"So, how do we reconcile these differences?" she asked, looking at them. "How can you create a plan of attack for anything, not just combat, using Tzu's ideas? Wooing a romantic partner by using almost defensive-only tactics seems doomed to failure, as does using that mindset during a business transaction. But if you go on the pure offensive, you risk leaving yourself vulnerable to counter-attacks and over-committing your resources to one plan."
"That's when you start to look at the bigger picture," Tahiri said, picking up the thread of the lecture. "Not just the immediate goal of winning that battle, or wanting to win the war, but how to put yourself into a position to succeed. As Sun Tzu says, it's 'a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.' It's only once you're sure you've gotten into that position that you should look to set things into motion."
She did not add a 'not dirty' disclaimer, even though it wasn't, because she knew you kids and your dirty-minded tendencies.
Besides, 'Not dirty' would just encourage some of their students *cough*Isabela*cough* to make it dirtier. Ghanima had been a high school teacher long enough to know that.
"Everybody go find a game, either against a computer or against a classmate, and work on establishing your tactics."
"So," Tahiri said when everyone appeared to be present, "we're going to talk about tactical disposition today. What Sun Tzu had to say about that is: 'The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.'"
She made a face. "I know that sounds like a lot of pressure to be perfect. But if it helps any, he goes on to say, 'To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy themself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure themself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.' Victory depends as much on being able to use your opponent's mistakes and weaknesses against them as it does your own efforts not to make any mistakes yourself. But . . . it's pretty hard to be able to predict mistakes if you've never made any yourself, right?"
"So today, you're going to get the chance to make mistakes in a secure environment, with nothing on the line except your pride," Ghanima added, holding up a chess piece. "'Security against defeat implies defensive tactics; ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.'"
"So, how do we reconcile these differences?" she asked, looking at them. "How can you create a plan of attack for anything, not just combat, using Tzu's ideas? Wooing a romantic partner by using almost defensive-only tactics seems doomed to failure, as does using that mindset during a business transaction. But if you go on the pure offensive, you risk leaving yourself vulnerable to counter-attacks and over-committing your resources to one plan."
"That's when you start to look at the bigger picture," Tahiri said, picking up the thread of the lecture. "Not just the immediate goal of winning that battle, or wanting to win the war, but how to put yourself into a position to succeed. As Sun Tzu says, it's 'a position which makes defeat impossible, and does not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.' It's only once you're sure you've gotten into that position that you should look to set things into motion."
She did not add a 'not dirty' disclaimer, even though it wasn't, because she knew you kids and your dirty-minded tendencies.
Besides, 'Not dirty' would just encourage some of their students *cough*Isabela*cough* to make it dirtier. Ghanima had been a high school teacher long enough to know that.
"Everybody go find a game, either against a computer or against a classmate, and work on establishing your tactics."
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"I'm not familiar with any of them," she replied. "Perhaps you would like to teach me the rules?"
The smile Ringo got in return was hardly friendly, but that shouldn't be surprising either.
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"Well, to be honest, I've never been a board game sort of person. I much prefer being outside in the sunshine, you know?" She looked over the pile, trying to pick out something that looked familiar.
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"I am not surprised," she replied drily. Picking one of the games at random, she looked at the box.
"Battleships?"
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She slid into a seat across from Lucille and grinned. "The box looks interesting, at least?"
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She opened the box and pulled out the contents, arranging them on the table.
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"Then I choose a square, and you tell me if there is a ship there," she explained. "4D."
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"Nothing there," she declared with a grin. Look, she was totally winning already!
"What about C3?"
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No, Ringo wasn't winning. She just had a lucky start.
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Ringo crowed in victory. She proceeded to guess around that spot until she sunk Lucille's battleship. She sounded awfully smug as she announced "E5" next.
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Just a lucky start, Ringo."
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"Nope, that's another miss."
Hmm. "How about, um, G7?"
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She beamed as she worked out the position of her new hit and sunk that, too.
To her credit, she tried not to sound too smug as she announced the current score. "So that's two to zero, right?" Apparently, despite her best attempts, Ringo wasn't that good at sounding not-smug.
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Ignoring the smugness, Lucille said: "7B."
Actually, she sounded annoyed, so maybe she failed at ignoring it.
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Ringo's smug grin faltered slightly, though. "That's a hit," she allowed with a pout.
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"Your turn." No, she did not pout. She was not a person who pouted.
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"C7," she declared smugly, just knowing that that'd be a hit.
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Because this game was one of luck, not of skill, clearly.
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At least Lucille wasn't getting any hits while Ringo's, er, "skill" recovered. She chewed thoughtfully on her lip. "I8?" she asked, sounding less sure of herself than she had earlier.
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[And in my head I had replied to this.]
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Then she chewed on her lip, trying to figure out where she should go next. "I1?"
[No worries! Happens to me all the time!]
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