I'll Admit It's Been A While Since I Watched Any Of The Star Trek Stuff Involving The Kobayashi Maru,

I'll admit it's been a while since I watched any of the star trek stuff involving the kobayashi maru, but I'm not sure it matters if it's a hologram, or a test, or a situation they're guaranteed to lose.

Here you are, on the bridge of a ship you've been trained to command. You're surrounded by every red flag of a worst-case scenario you've ever been taught to identify. Sure you could sit there and do nothing because none of it is real! It's just a holodeck, just a test, but there's a fearful edge to that engineer's voice as she comms you with a damage report and don't you remember the rumors about that time on the Enterprise where their holodeck came to life and "Captain, our shields are down to 15 percent!"

Could you stop yourself from trying to beat the odds, in such a context? From doing everything you could to save their lives, even if it's not real?

Would you want to serve under a captain who saw even a simulation of the deaths of all those under their command, and did nothing at all to stop it?

The funny thing is, I think the Kobayashi Maru is a very odd test, psychologically, depending on what it’s actually trying to determine. It changes over time.

Particularly after it’s been around for a while, you know it’s unwinnable going into it. Not only does that promote a sense of fatalism, but it paradoxically absolves the participant of any responsibility. If you can’t win, then you can rest secure that it wasn’t your fault, your choices didn’t matter, and the system was rigged against you. It’s not an especially good lesson to teach, though I suppose it does get you ready for evil Starfleet admirals and bureaucracy.

In a way, what Kirk did was more than change the conditions of the test for himself; by opening up the possibility of winning, he changed the psychological value of the test for everyone who came after him.

This raises the question: what is the Kobayashi Maru test really trying to measure, and what kind of captain is Starfleet really looking for? Someone who will accept an unwinnable situation with grace, or someone who knows the situation can’t be won, but fights anyway?

…or, possibly, someone who can change the parameters of a situation before it even happens?

if you were a deity, what would you be the god of

Petition for Qwydion to be in DA4 and be a dragon rider

Ah BBC Merlin, my old favorite

Well I immediately hate this Joker guy

Sure there is probably about to be bad luck since you are in fact stuck in a Game Plot, but kicking the alien guy off the ship isn't gonna fix that for you 😑

I have loved Dragon Age for years, so it may be a bit surprising that I've never tried any of the Mass Effect games before. But that changes tonight! I got the legendary edition on the Steam sale and I'm excited to find out what the sci-fi counterpart to my favorite franchise looks like!

I'm going to try to do live updates as I play, so follow me if you want to hear more about my first playthrough!

I remember seeing someone mention in a post that Taako may have forgotten his birthday because he’s a twin and I immediately had to draw it out. I do NOT remember who made the original post so if someone know it, could they mention the OP in the tags, comments, or reblogs? I want to credit them.

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