in general, there are a few things i've taken away from this book... that are not specifically about the thought that sparked my desire to read it in the first place. i'll have to return to that thought and examine it through the lens of the art of war. this stuff, though, is good to hold onto.
I quoted this to jack today when speaking of my (personal) response to Snow Game, in particular I think I thought of the idea of victory, as well as thinking of "people's lives" and "the country's welfare." Silly things, maybe, for a game designer to be concerned with.
Here, though, I wish to focus somewhat on "victory; not lengthy operations" -- of course, part of this is my ADHD speaking, but this appeals to me a great deal, and it is a theme returned to time & again throughout the book. To have a goal, to pursue it without wasting time. And in particular to have a '''real''' goal.
Sun Tzu speaks earlier of "The virtue of the prince" and here (already quoted) of "people's lives" and "the country's welfare." They are not given an explicit link, but I believe they both speak to having a legitimate purpose behind one's actions. Victory is not a simple matter of stating and achieving goals, victory involves achieving something meaningful. Virtuous.
Of course, we are speaking of war, here. I'll get more into that later.
QuoteNow the object of war is victory; not lengthy operations, even skilfully[sic] conducted.
The good general is the lord of the people's lives, the guardian of the country's welfare.
I quoted this to jack today when speaking of my (personal) response to Snow Game, in particular I think I thought of the idea of victory, as well as thinking of "people's lives" and "the country's welfare." Silly things, maybe, for a game designer to be concerned with.
Here, though, I wish to focus somewhat on "victory; not lengthy operations" -- of course, part of this is my ADHD speaking, but this appeals to me a great deal, and it is a theme returned to time & again throughout the book. To have a goal, to pursue it without wasting time. And in particular to have a '''real''' goal.
Sun Tzu speaks earlier of "The virtue of the prince" and here (already quoted) of "people's lives" and "the country's welfare." They are not given an explicit link, but I believe they both speak to having a legitimate purpose behind one's actions. Victory is not a simple matter of stating and achieving goals, victory involves achieving something meaningful. Virtuous.
Of course, we are speaking of war, here. I'll get more into that later.