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A Few More Thoughts On Strategy; 2/22/12 3:05 pm
Topic Started: Feb 22 2012, 02:22 PM (44 Views)
Kate
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To me, it's most beneficial to play this game with logical players, not emotional ones... because they are more predictable. Emotional players don't do what is presumably in their best interest. They do what their heart tells them to do, or they vote based on fear, letting paranoia get the best of them. Sometimes, they let their pride run the show. They make big impulsive moves... they might be logical when it comes to their short-term tactics, but they make tactics simply for tactics' sakes. They don't look at the big picture.

All moves should be based on furthering an overall strategy, not based on one round, or on short-term gratification devoid of strategic value.

So I want to take a look at impulse vs. intuition.

Intuition is a good thing. An intuitive player will usually get far, because they just have a knack for reading dynamics in the game. When I say I'm going with my "gut," what I'm really saying is my intuition is kicking in. I have a good grasp on the game, so when I get a "feeling" that something is going down, that "feeling" is usually at least somewhat credible. Intuition is basically just little bits of subconscious knowledge collected in the back of your head that leads you to make decisions down the road. You just can't put your finger one why you "know" something, but you just do. You just "know" it. That is intuition.

Now, I'm not saying you can rely on intuition alone. LOGIC HAS TO RULE YOUR GAME!!! But, the player that can use intuition to inform their logical approach, has a huge advantage. Intuition is a virtue.

Impulse, on the other hand, is not grounded in knowledge or common sense of any kind. It is based on emotion. Impulse leads players down random paths. It makes the game unpredictable. It is NOT a virtue, and it should not have a place in this game. Impulse might make for interesting rounds, but it does not make for a good guiding principle to gameplay. Impulse should not inform strategy. Logical moves based on impulse are DANGEROUS. An impulsive player, unlike an intuitive player, is detrimental to himself/herself and EVERYONE AROUND THEM.

One more thing I want to discuss here is empathy vs. sympathy. An empathetic player has a huge advantage in this game. Empathy allows you (or more accurately, it forces you) to feel what another is feeling, think what another is thinking, see the world through another's eyes. An empathetic person ends up projecting their own image on another, or maybe they just absorb another's situation into themselves. You feel another's pain, experience another's joy...

I truly believe that empathy is a huge factor that accounts into things like human kindness, altruism, love, etc. I believe we live in a largely egoistic, self-centered world. We can only experience the world via our own senses, and in reality, everything we know comes from our own unique perspective... it comes from within the "self." But empathy allows us to connect with the outward.

Now, in real life, empathy usually comes paired with sympathy. But in Survivor, you have to be able to seperate real life from the game. So, in Survivor, you have to be able to have empathy for another, but not to act in a sympathetic manner, unless doing so does not hurt your own game. The empathetic player, thus, can put himself/herself in another's shoes, which enables him/her to figure out what kinds of moves that person might make. The trick is not to let sympathy take hold. Emotions have to be put on hold. You have to remember the other player is not you friend, but your opponent. In other words, you are not blindsiding you Adam, when you take me down. You are blindsiding Kate. When the game is over, I will shake your hand and say "good job."

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BROBST
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Good grief............you're like my SURVIVOR twin with how you think about this game :D
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Kate
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LOL... I know. That's why we agree 9 times out of 10 on your Survivor blogs.
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