tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post4105901715361779279..comments2024-03-28T03:10:23.679-07:00Comments on Polemarch: Emotion and WargamingThe Polemarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10958736917525649927noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-38314594132253237452013-05-04T14:48:33.282-07:002013-05-04T14:48:33.282-07:00Chris, I haven't witnessed this level of compu...Chris, I haven't witnessed this level of computation on the miniature wargames table but I have seen these levels of computations in board, wargames. Perhaps, your chap has entered miniature wargaming from the boardgaming genre?Jonathan Freitaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07862373894196924886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-4530781062242658592013-05-03T01:57:26.040-07:002013-05-03T01:57:26.040-07:00That does seem outside the normal sort of behaviou...That does seem outside the normal sort of behaviour expected....<br /><br />Maybe standing behind him shouting 'bang' would help.The Polemarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10958736917525649927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-8840636604715475242013-05-02T07:38:40.709-07:002013-05-02T07:38:40.709-07:00There is a chap at our local club who has an almos...There is a chap at our local club who has an almost computer-like ability to calculate mathematically the risks inherent in any manoeuvre on the wargames table. Every action comes down to a calculation of the odds based on the possible range of die rolls - x% chance of success, y% of failure, z% of no result. Seems to me to be a most un-historic lack of emotion being put into a decision of whether to charge or not to charge.<br /><br />There again, I'm still using woad.....Chris Gricenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-6072373181548577822013-05-02T00:43:07.643-07:002013-05-02T00:43:07.643-07:00The problem is, as I see it, that we have to take ...The problem is, as I see it, that we have to take decisions without being able to exhaust the rational possibilities and without being in full possession of the facts. I imagine that it only gets worse in real life battlefield situations. <br /><br />And of course, we do select the facts to suit our world-view. Ancient Britons appear to have thought that woad markings would magically deflect weapon strokes. They seem to have been wrong. I wonder how long that world-view lasted past 43 AD.<br /><br />I'm not sure that our hobby is quite so bad as simply exploring the game designer's concepts, but nor does it give direct access to understanding history. So long as we understand the radical limitations, I guess we can enjoy it in any way we choose, although as I think I've mentioned, I don't tend to wargame anything later than about 1700.The Polemarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10958736917525649927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-20208248480481251052013-05-01T15:23:51.478-07:002013-05-01T15:23:51.478-07:00Emotion not excluding tribal beliefs and prejudice...Emotion not excluding tribal beliefs and prejudice not only affect the decision itself, but also which bits of "fact" we even attempt to take into consideration. <br /><br />I can confirm the Padre's remarks on experiencing decision making under stress in Basic Officer Training and later. Tuneel vision is deadly. In post military life, decisions often came with almost as much pressure to start with but as years went by they became easier, probably because the emotional tracks were set so that only a few immediate technical details had to be sorted and dealt with. <br /><br />I used to be at great pains to avoid the word "toy" and "play" when I believed that I really could explore and discover history through wargames. As I realized the best I could do was to explore the concepts of the game designer and realized how much "game" was a part of my wargames, I out the word Toy and play back in prominently to separate myself from the serious simulation types esp the real life ones who are studying current and future wars in preparation for carrying them out not past ones for amusement. <br /><br />-RossRoss Mac rmacfa@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04053555991679802013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-72230085364071628602013-04-29T04:07:18.603-07:002013-04-29T04:07:18.603-07:00or adulthood is incompatible with us...or adulthood is incompatible with us...Benjamin of Wighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03638987247523360801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-66826398964808465442013-04-29T00:43:46.894-07:002013-04-29T00:43:46.894-07:00I think that some recent work in psychology sugges...I think that some recent work in psychology suggests that we decide before we think about, so rational decision making is more along the lines of justification of what we have already decided. So we always act of our gut instincts / intuition; the only question is whether we can find a rationalization so we can call it something else.<br /><br />i use the words toy soldier and little man to try to prevent myself from getting too intense about a subject which is, after all, a game. <br /><br />I'm not sure that wargaming is incompatible with being an adult, although some people might see it that way, but as someone pointed out here a while ago, it is certainly no sillier than following a football team.The Polemarchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10958736917525649927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5185876513552272723.post-36359202742094031992013-04-27T08:08:55.031-07:002013-04-27T08:08:55.031-07:00When I did my Basic Officer training I was always ...When I did my Basic Officer training I was always intrigued by the tension between the paradigm of decision making that was taught to us (considering a multitude of tactical factors, multiple courses of action, etc) and the realities of having limited time to consider those factors and COAs, lack of sleep, the stresses fear of getting it wrong, fear of being jacked up by the instructor, etc. I found, as you say, that some decisions emerged before I really thought them through, Making decisions on gut, instinct, etc seems intellectually lacking, but I think it's often what happens, whether we admit it or not.<br /><br />As for pleasure, I think it's curious how many wargaming blogs use the words "toy", "little men", etc as if in a subconscious admission/refutation of the idea that the pleasures we find in our hobby are somehow incompatible with adulthood. Mad Padrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00410143683610813671noreply@blogger.com