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Probably one of the best episodes of the original series for the message it delivered. The sad reality is that far too many planners who delve into these games

Probably one of the best episodes of the original series for the message it delivered. The sad reality is that far too many planners who delve into these games come up with the idea they can actually win with "acceptable" losses. The quote that shows the futility of war games is “No Battle Plan Survives Contact With the Enemy” from German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke

DanielBMarkham 11y ago
Great episode. One of my favorite lines is when Spock tells Kirk if he shoots this one computer with his phaser, they all will blow up. Wow! Folks have always said to be careful with volatile variables, but they weren't kidding: they really are dangerous. TOS is my favorite series, not necessarily because it was great sci-fi, but because it subtly reminds us of how the human condition has changed in 50 years. So many things that they simply took for granted, like Kirk would have an electronic clipboard that he simply signed -- not played games on or spent hours staring at -- can teach us profound things about how our attitude towards tech has changed.
- emp_zealoth 11y ago
  I personally blame Apple. Tablets could have been omnitools from scifi Instead we got a retarded toy bauble Hopefully,in a few years we will be blessed by a next gen tablet (Dunno,maybe something with high/low power cpu combo,a bit like dual gpu laptops,dedicated keyboard with extras (hdd?, powerful gpu?, somehow toss in a huge eink screen in the mix too) Id be able to bin my tablet,laptop,10inch ereader and live in a future)
  - jandrese 11y ago
    You are blaming Apple for human nature. The only reason you don't see people playing games on their Star Trek PADDs is that they were theoretically at work and because the writers were a little shortsighted in that regard. The writers assumed that holodecks would make computer games obsolete because in their heart everybody is a LARPer.
dragonwriter 11y ago
> The quote that shows the futility of war games is “No Battle Plan Survives Contact With the Enemy” from German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke How does that show the futility of war games? War games are one venue in which military leaders develop skill in adapting to the unexpected. The accuracy of von Moltke's quote certainly suggests that planning can't completely substitute for skill in execution, but it doesn't mean that planning is unnecessary or that war gaming is not valuable.

DanielBMarkham 11y ago

Great episode. One of my favorite lines is when Spock tells Kirk if he shoots this one computer with his phaser, they all will blow up. Wow! Folks have always said to be careful with volatile variables, but they weren't kidding: they really are dangerous. TOS is my favorite series, not necessarily because it was great sci-fi, but because it subtly reminds us of how the human condition has changed in 50 years. So many things that they simply took for granted, like Kirk would have an electronic clipboard that he simply signed -- not played games on or spent hours staring at -- can teach us profound things about how our attitude towards tech has changed.

emp_zealoth 11y ago
I personally blame Apple. Tablets could have been omnitools from scifi Instead we got a retarded toy bauble Hopefully,in a few years we will be blessed by a next gen tablet (Dunno,maybe something with high/low power cpu combo,a bit like dual gpu laptops,dedicated keyboard with extras (hdd?, powerful gpu?, somehow toss in a huge eink screen in the mix too) Id be able to bin my tablet,laptop,10inch ereader and live in a future)
- jandrese 11y ago
  You are blaming Apple for human nature. The only reason you don't see people playing games on their Star Trek PADDs is that they were theoretically at work and because the writers were a little shortsighted in that regard. The writers assumed that holodecks would make computer games obsolete because in their heart everybody is a LARPer.

dragonwriter 11y ago

> The quote that shows the futility of war games is “No Battle Plan Survives Contact With the Enemy” from German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke How does that show the futility of war games? War games are one venue in which military leaders develop skill in adapting to the unexpected. The accuracy of von Moltke's quote certainly suggests that planning can't completely substitute for skill in execution, but it doesn't mean that planning is unnecessary or that war gaming is not valuable.