Jonathan Wallace

When I was younger I played the Age of Empires games a lot. So did my neighbor, (then FBI agent, previously a West Point graduate) now a Lt. General in the US Army. We were destined to play against each other. It soon became a weekend past-time to play against each other 1vs1, or 3vs3 with all my brothers.

I lost, a lot. We were practice for him. I was the best of my brothers so he choose me for our monthly championships. One match changed the way I thought forever.

It was a regicide game: the winner won either by total domination or by killing the king who was hidden in our castles but could be moved and hidden in various buildings. In this game he took his time; massing an army, gathering resources, and blocking off choke points. I played defensively to his small skirmishes (the psychological effect alone was intimidating). Predicting a quick slaughter, I hid my king in an obscure and unlikely place. Eventually his archers and siege weapons destroyed my town.

With just a king and a small raiding force of cavalry, it was only a matter of time before he won. If I was really good, I could have built another base somewhere else. At this point most players resign. While his army was quickly wasting away my base, I went straight for his castle. If I was lucky, his king was in there; his army would be too slow and far away to save himself. I got lucky. I won.

My neighbor wanted to test a new army on me. His assuredness or overconfidence distracted him from the real goal (kill the king). Anticipating that I would do nothing outside of my ordinary patterns, he lost the game.

I learned something “big”, that I did not realize until much later. We shouldn’t look for a more complex answer when a simple one will suffice. There is no point wasting time or resources on something that can be accomplished with a simple raiding party. Doing something outside of your normal patterns can be an effective strategy against someone who’s observed your behavior. Being unpredictable works in war, poker and seduction. As for my opponent; expecting the unexpected, though impossible, is a strategy worth pursuing.

But hey, it’s just a game.

“On the left gathered those who were most alive to the new possibilities created by mass affluence but who, at the same time, were hostile to the social institutions responsible for creating those possibilities. On the right, meanwhile, rallied those who staunchly supported the institutions that created prosperity but who shrank from the social dynamism they were unleashing. One side denounced capitalism but gobbled up its fruits; the other cursed the fruits while defending the system that bore them.”
Lindsey, Brink
The Age of Abundance

These are my goals:
To become a better writer.
To stay fit.
To learn everything I can about the world and organize it here.
My goal is to not only learn to understand the world, but to change it.

This is where I will hold myself accountable.

If I stumble or dip,I will persist. If I fail, then I have learned another way to “not build a lightbulb.”