Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: Version 1.0 Netnews CMS/BITNET 5/19/85; site PSUVM.BITNET Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ukma!psuvm.bitnet!miq From: MIQ@PSUVMA.BITNET Newsgroups: net.startrek Subject: Re: Followup to 'His was the most human Message-ID: <4571MIQ@PSUVMA> Date: Tue, 18-Mar-86 13:22:13 EST Article-I.D.: PSUVMA.4571MIQ Posted: Tue Mar 18 13:22:13 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 19-Mar-86 05:36:22 EST References: <1661@mtgzz.UUCP> 24900128@uiucdcs Lines: 53 In article <24900128@uiucdcs>, mcewan@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU says: >>>> How about in Charlie X when Captain Kirk beats Spock. Spock says something >>>> like "Your illogical manner of playing chess sometimes has it's advantages". >>> >>>Hasn't anyone else noticed that this statement is idiotic? If Kirk won, how >>>can his play be described as "illogical"? >> >> Have you ever played a game and tried to lose while the other player is >> playing normally? I often do this when playing games against the >> computer, just for variety. It's remarkable how well you can do when >> trying to do poorly. The problem is that the other player makes >> decisions predicated on the assumption that you will be playing >> logically. When a player is building a move tree in his mind, he >> generally only expands certain branches, and makes his move based on >> that pruned tree; if the opponent decides to follow one of the other, >> less promising branches, the player's original move may turn out to be >> less than optimal. >> >> A good way to confound a logical player is to make completely random > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >> moves. The logic involved in strategic game playing generally involves > ^^^^^ >> predicting the other player's moves; this is quite difficult if the >> other player is random. Kirk's play was probably not random, but he >> probably guessed every now and then, which was enough to throw Spock's >> strategy off. > >In other words, this is a LOGICAL way to play against such a player, right? > > Scott McEwan You mean the logical thing to do is to play randomly, without logic? Isn't that a contradiction in terms? (Where have I heard that before?) ------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | James D. Maloy | THIS SPACE | | The Pennsylvania State University | FOR RENT | | | | | UUCP Path: ihnp4!psuvax1!miq@psuvma.bitnet | Call 555-6821 | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "I am pleased to see we have differences. May we together become greater than the sum of both of us." -- Surak of Vulcan