hkr4627@acf4.UUCP (Hedley K. J. Rainnie) (04/11/85)
How about this one? Let the Kobayashi Maru get blown to smithereens, since you know it's either a Klingon trick or a Starfleet Trick. How could you be defeated for doing that?
friesen@psivax.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) (04/15/85)
In article <1660011@acf4.UUCP> hkr4627@acf4.UUCP (Hedley K. J. Rainnie) writes: >How about this one? >Let the Kobayashi Maru get blown to smithereens, since you know it's either >a Klingon trick or a Starfleet Trick. How could you be defeated for doing >that? Because, under the conditions of the test the Kobayashi Maru is "really" there, and it would be a violation of the honor and indeed the entire purpose of Starfleet to simply stand back and let Federation citizens be killed by hostile aliens. -- Sarima (Stanley Friesen) {trwrb|allegra|cbosgd|hplabs|ihnp4|aero!uscvax!akgua}!sdcrdcf!psivax!friesen or {ttdica|quad1|bellcore|scgvaxd}!psivax!friesen
ron@wjvax.UUCP (Ron Christian) (04/18/85)
Re: Those who suggested that the distress call from the K. Maru
should be ignored.
We've said over and over that it's a no win situation. Ok. You
get a distress call, and you are REQUIRED (probably by federal
regulations) to respond. Responding puts you in a situation where
you get killed. This is not an unreasonable scenerio considering
the military nature of your job. The test was designed to record
cadet's reactions to such a situation.
The real question is, do you believe that you must bravely give your
life for your country/federation/whatever if the situation warrents
it, or do you believe, like Captian Kirk (and, by the way General
Patton and others) that your goal is both to complete your mission AND
somehow survive?
I think the main theme of STII pointed out a major point of debate on
the preceved purpose of military life. That is, a soldier dying bravely
and gallently as opposed to being sneaky and underhanded but getting the
job done. And surviving.
I don't think I've expressed this very well. Maybe we should kick this
idea around a little more. But *I* think trying to out-guess the K. Maru
situation is a null excercise. Besides Kirk already found the answer
to that one...
--
--
Ron Christian (Watkins-Johnson Co. San Jose, Calif.)
{pesnta,twg,ios,qubix,turtlevax,tymix,vecpyr,isi,idx}!wjvax!ron
"What do you mean you backed it up the wrong direction???"hkr4627@acf4.UUCP (Hedley K. J. Rainnie) (04/19/85)
I'm sorry, Stanley, but I have to disagree. Kirk circumvented the inevitable by reprogramming the test. He ignored both the "conditions of the test" and the "honor" you mention--and got away with it! -r-