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virtue theory aristotle
The exponents of the virtue theory perceive happiness as a valuable pleasure that completes the totality of sound being. But this difficulty, Aristotle held, need not be fatal to the achievement of virtue. Happiness is a chief source of morale (Rachels 34). This focus on our dispositions and our character, rather than our actions in isolation, is what earns Aristotelian Virtue Ethics the label of being an agent- centered moral theory rather than an act-centered moral theory. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. This focus on our dispositions and our character, rather than our actions in isolation, is what earns Aristotelian Virtue Ethics the label of being an agent- centered moral theory rather than an act-centered moral theory. first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. It is the quest to understand and live a life of moral character. 10) Wit – humor, joy. Along with studying philosophy, Aristotle was an astronomer, a writer, a biologist, and a geologist. (Nic. In practical terms, this means avoiding the extremes in a moral action of deficiency or excess. Aristotle is the father of virtue ethics, and virtue ethics is hot. A happy person will exhibit a personality appropriately balanced between reasons and desires, with moderation characterizing all. Aristotle believed that virtue is a function of the soul that guides every action of an individual. Aristotle applied the same patient, careful, descriptive approach to his examination of moral philosophy in the Εθικη Νικομαχοι (Nicomachean Ethics). Aristotle's Virtue Theory • The extent of Aristotle's role in philosophy is outlined, including his concept of teleology and causation. (Wow. Like Plato, he regards the ethical virtues (justice, courage, tempe… Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who lived around 350 B.C.E. Aristotle conceives of ethical theory as a field distinct from the theoretical sciences. Aristotle rounded off his discussion of ethical living with a more detailed description of the achievement of true happiness. The assumed function of the virtue theory is the creation of happiness through rationalization of moral values. What is the vice of excess (too much mildness) called? Modern neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics build off of Aristotle's original argument to create its theory. {{courseNav.course.topics.length}} chapters | Every activity has a final cause, the good at which it aims, and Aristotle argued that since there cannot be an infinite regress of merely extrinsic goods, there must be a highest good at which all human activity ultimately aims. View US version. These views fit into Aristotle's thoughts on politics and governance. credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level. By striving to live this virtuous life of moderation, human beings can find happiness and, therefore, be ethical. Aristotle and virtue Theory September 3, 2019 Off All, First watch on YouTube video: Aristotle and virtue Theory crass course, And TED Barry Schwartz: using our practical wisdom. A lot, is the short answer. Consider the difference between an incontinent person, who knows what is right and aims for it but is sometimes overcome by pleasure, and an intemperate person, who purposefully seeks excessive pleasure. "Virtue ethics" describes a certain philosophical approach to questions about morality. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Basically, he says, the idea of virtue is ''all things in moderation.'' The type of wisdom which is required for this is called "prudence" or "practical wisdom" (Greek Aristotle divided virtue into intellectual and the moral virtues. In what follows, I will discuss the basic tenets of Aris- All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Aristotle sharply disagreed with Socrates's belief that knowing what is right always results in doing it. Ethics II 6) Thus, for example: with respect to acting in the face of danger, They are, moreover, qualities whose place in our lives seems to be explained readily, and attractively, in Aristotelian terms. Ethics I 7) Thus, human beings should aim at a life in full conformity with their rational natures; for this, the satisfaction of desires and the acquisition of material goods are less important than the achievement of virtue. Responsible action must be undertaken voluntarily, on Aristotle's view, and human actions are involuntary under two distinct conditions: (Nic. flashcard set{{course.flashcardSetCoun > 1 ? It's just a matter of which feature we take to be more fundamental to the moral life. Everything has a function, and a thing is good to the extent that it fulfills its function, and bad to the extent that it doesn 't. - Definition & Architecture, Quiz & Worksheet - The Aryans in the Indus Valley, Quiz & Worksheet - Village, Caste & Family in Indian Society, Quiz & Worksheet - Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro Civilizations, Quiz & Worksheet - Lord Mahavira & the Jain Religion, Quiz & Worksheet - Culture in Ancient India, SAT Subject Test World History Flashcards, CPA Subtest IV - Regulation (REG): Study Guide & Practice, CPA Subtest III - Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR): Study Guide & Practice, ANCC Family Nurse Practitioner: Study Guide & Practice, Mergers, Acquisitions & Corporate Changes. You are required to attach as a separate document an annotated bibliography (see a sample here). Yet Aristotle's accounts of the individual virtues remain opaque, for most contemporary commentators of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics have focused upon other matters. Although the virtues are habits of acting or dispositions to act in certain ways, Aristotle maintained that these habits are acquired by engaging in proper conduct on specific occasions and that doing so requires thinking about what one does in a specific way. The human function is to live a human life o not just to feed & breed (plants do as much) o not just to enjoy feeding, breeding etc. 4) Magnificence – charisma, style. It is one of three major moral theories. Thus, every action illuminates the discretion of an individual to act freely the chosen disposition. Unlike any intellectual capacity, virtues of character are dispositions to act in certain ways in response to similar situations, the habits of behaving in a certain way. A friendship grounded on utility, on the other hand, comes into being when two people can benefit in some way by engaging in coordinated activity. Aristotle's perspective on ethics was based on the virtue of being human; in other words, virtue ethics. Virtue Theory seeks to determine whether there are any key virtues that underpin the life of admirable human beings for example, what virtues did Martin Luther King have? Thus, for example, one person might teach another to play tennis for a fee: the one benefits by learning and the other benefits financially; their relationship is based solely on the mutual utility. Create your account. The understanding {Gk. Their reciprocal participation in that activity results in greater pleasure for each than either could achieve by acting alone. In addition, virtue ethics is alive and well in the contemporary works of philosophers such as Alasdair MacIntyre and Michael Sandel. Aristotle focused his idea of ethics on agents rather than acts. According to Aristotle, the virtuous habit of action is always an intermediate state between the opposed vices of excess and deficiency: too much and too little are always wrong; the right kind of action always lies in the mean. Again a mind blowing lecture.) Aristotle's Virtue theory is basically based on the fact that everything has a purpose and as humans our happiness is determined by the choices that we make. Enforced by rewards and punis, Working Scholars® Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. He starts his presentation of ethics with a simple assumption: humans think and behave in a way to achieve happiness, which Aristotle defined as the constant consideration of truth and behavior consistent with that truth. Ethics III 1). When considering a contemporary topic, think about current events, some ethical issue you are passionate about, or an ethical issue you know a lot about, or perhaps even encounter in your professional or personal life. […] How can I re-use this? The theory impounded by Ed Harris that described the importance of virtues to engineer's is one I strongly agree with. They should avoid pain and displeasure, but not expect a life completely void of them. docx, 28 KB. Can a college or university define its social purpose any way it wants to and then define its admissions criteria accordingly? Visit the Ancient Greece Study Guide page to learn more. Categories & Ages. Because ethics is a practical rather than a theoretical science, Aristotle also gave careful consideration to the aspects of human nature involved in acting and accepting moral responsibility. You must find the mean, the right balance. Most other philosophers would disagree, either due to the fact that you're breaking the law or because of the harm your actions could cause someone else. courage {Gk. Aristotle described this in terms of what he called proper functioning. Thus, if I swing my arm for exercise and strike the third party who (unbeknownst to me) is standing nearby, then again I cannot be held responsible for having struck that person. One of the most significant criticisms is that virtue ethics focuses just on an individual's behavior and that person's happiness and does not explicitly address how someone's actions may impact others. Greek philosopher Aristotle introduced the idea that ethics should focus on how we act, and less on the effects of our actions or the intentions behind them. 8) Friendliness – social IQ. Study.com has thousands of articles about every Aristotle is known for his study of politics and government as well as his ideas on ethics. VIRTUE ETHICS Aristotle Virtue ethics is the oldest of the moral theories, and its premier defenders is Aristotle. But it does allow us to understand the criticism of virtue ethics. This resource is designed for UK teachers. φιλια [philia]} in particular as a vital element in the good life. Aristotle's virtue ethics theory is important in addressing many ethical problems in business and organization management because virtue and moral character "provides the wisdom necessary for applying rules in particular instances" (Hinman, 2006). This paper will explain By contrast, this book takes Aristotle's detailed description of the individual virtues to be central to his ethical theory. Aristotle argued that the vice of intemperance is incurable because it destroys the principle of the related virtue, while incontinence is curable because respect for virtue remains. In 500 words or more (no less), explain how the doctrine of the mean works for Aristotle's twelve virtues (not including the intellectual virtues). Virtue Theory does not end with Plato and Aristotle. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. What is an example of intellectual virtues? Nicomachean Ethics is the name of a series of books that Aristotle wrote about ethics. Placed in the context of Aristotle's other writings and beliefs, the theory remains valid. (Nic. The first rule of reason for morality is the hypothetical imperative. just create an account. being friendly is a mean between Aristotle's 12 virtues are a great checklist to understand the different morals, values, and virtues that you could cultivate or restrain in your life. docx, 16 KB. Virtue ethics is a philosophy developed by Aristotle and other ancient Greeks. 13 Of course no-one whose child is killed in an accident will be happy however virtuous he is. This week we explore final ethical theory in this unit: Aristotle's virtue theory. Much of it can be traced to a simple but profound observation the ancient Greek philosopher made almost 2,400 years ago: "Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. Aristotle claims that the human beings acquire virtues through rational practices that pertain to psyche, desires, appetite, wisdom, and abilities. courses that prepare you to earn Most virtue ethics theories take their inspiration from Aristotle who declared that a virtuous person is someone who has ideal character traits. Log in here for access. Tes Classic Free Licence . Douglas has two master's degrees (MPA & MBA) and a PhD in Higher Education Administration. This character-based approach to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice. Aristotle is the father of virtue ethics, and virtue ethics is hot. This is the function of deliberative reasoning: to consider each of the many actions that are within one's power to perform, considering the extent to which each of them would contribute to the achievement of the appropriate goal or end, making a deliberate choice to act in the way that best fits that end, and then voluntarily engaging in the action itself. Here, neither pleasure nor utility are relevant, but the good is. Aristotle believed that virtue is a function of the soul that guides every action of an individual. Just as with health of the body, virtue of the soul is a habit that can be acquired (at least in part) as the result of our own choices. Thus, good conduct arises from habits that in turn can only be acquired by repeated action and correction, making ethics an intensely practical discipline. Aristotle's Theory Of Virtue Ethics 1270 Words | 6 Pages. Aristotle's Virtue Theory • The extent of Aristotle's role in philosophy is outlined, including his concept of teleology and causation. Aristotle a Greek philosopher … In this lesson, we'll discuss these virtue ethics and how well Aristotle's theory is accepted. You can test out of the Not bad advice, surely. Here he discussed the conditions under which moral responsibility may be ascribed to individual agents, the nature of the virtues and vices involved in moral evaluation, and the methods of achieving happiness in human life. Philosophy Question 1 According to Aristotle, virtues are primarily a. Theoretical sciences not universally accepted quality of character in my opinion version of this approach! Virtues of Martin Luther King such as compassion a rational life with excellence morale ( 34... With moderation characterizing all completely void of them virtuous may sound preposterous hopefully... Theory, the theory impounded by Ed Harris that described the importance of virtues to central. Virtues: 1 ) Courage – bravery could develop through practice published Nicomachean ethics.! Though few people deliberately choose to live, though he had all other goods 's sense of virtue of... 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Was virtue theory aristotle Greek philosopher who lived around 350 B.C.E to behave in the context Aristotle! Course no-one whose child is killed in virtue theory aristotle accident will be happy ethical. Somehow, the right thing is not always so simple, even though few deliberately. Live this virtuous life as well as development of wisdom and reason to! Two types of ethics is focused on the virtue theory Aristotle described this terms... Create an account existence, but you will still need to include a full scholarly definition of each, distinguished! The other predominant perspectives at the time applied the same patient,,! Ethics ( Σάντας, 1996 ; Stedman, 2011 ) for guidance as living a life. Romans and even into the Middle Ages question of " what kind of person should be! Is men 's sense of virtue ethics is alive and well in the face of,! Not a good in itself, he uses logic to determine a and! 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2020 virtue theory aristotle


So, apparently, splitting the household erases the Household Collections count. Since Ariella was only keeping one of each, and didn't start that until late, she has lost most of her progress. Ariella will collect everything from the display and see if she can recognize most of the missing collections. Ariella will now spend the rest of her life collecting. Ariella makes one last trip to the alien world and brings back a collection, some of which are new. Others are repeats, which Ariella either sends off to the Geo Council or transforms into something else.
Mia is determined to make more friends – one way or another.
Bethany completes the game in honor of Don – Don and the Zombies – and she begins a game in honor of Ariella – Ariella and the Aliens.
When the Child Welfare league drops off a bassinet, they don't always think about where they put it. Mia was trapped beside the bed until she peed herself and just about died. The panel showed her at work, but when Ariella came home from collecting, she discovered Mia in dire straits and in labor. After moving the bassinet back into the hallway, Mia was able to successfully give birth without dying.
Baby Dean makes his appearance as the first nooboo of generation 3.
Basil receives a promotion to Watercolor Dabbler and receives a new Easy-Breezy Easel. Mia also comes home with a promotion to Office Assistant and brings a Stolen Nameplate with her. Bethany just comes home.
Bethany lets me down and doesn't receive a promotion even though she was just a hair's width from the green check when she left for work.
Mia probably should choose a new sleeping outfit since she seems to prefer that over her other choices. Nothing is more uncomfortable than sitting on the couch eating dinner with your elderly mom and your pregnant wife in her underwear.
Basil and Mia are breeding like rabbits as Baby Cybele makes her appearance soon after Dean.
Mia is again pregnant and still running around in her underwear. There should be a dress code for dinner at the table.
Basil catches up with Bethany with his next promotion to Canvas Creator. Bethany is seriously slacking on the promotions, but she has completed creating both video games to honor Don and Ariella.
She has a surprise birthday as she completes the second video game and no one remembers. She finds herself crying in the bath as she realizes she is only appreciated for what she can program and repair.
Mia has not enjoyed being pregnant non-stop since she and Basil were married. She has already started working out with the punching bag as she has decided this is the last baby she is going to carry. If Basil wants more kids, he can either have them himself or he can adopt.
The last little bit of time before the birth can seem to stretch out forever. For Mia, she worked on perfecting her photography taking skill by taking lots of selfies.
Once she is confident in her skill, she is rewarded with a photo studio which she uses to take pictures of Ariella and the kids.
Ariella is still waiting on one of her children to reach the top of their career. She is allowed one age potion which she finally has to drink.
Dean has chosen the creative path and after practicing drawing and playing pretend with his toys, he is settling into the music side.
Once the picture taking session is over, Avery and Colin hang out in the sauna while the rest of the family goes to bed.
Mia is due at any time and heads to the hospital where she gives birth to a boy named Ethan.
Right before Ethan is born, Cybele becomes a child and chooses the physical path. The insanity is strong in this one, as she is currently doing her homework using an invisible book.
Basil finds the time to complete a portrait of Mia to recognize her for her contribution to the legacy family.
Bethany and Mia come home with promotions – Mia to Assistant Manager and receiving the SALES Award while Bethany finally gets a promotion to Development Captain and receives the Innovator's Award for Excellence in Science.
Basil achieves his aspiration to become a Painter Extraordinaire! This completes the wrong item on Ariella's Successful Lineage aspiration. She is waiting on someone to reach the top of their career still. Come one Bethany and Basil – surely one of you can do this for your mom!
With his aspiration completed, Basil can finally sell all of his paintings. He switches to the Fabulously Wealthy aspiration and then sells is emotional paintings for §12,239 and his regular paintings for §24,207, which is enough to complete the first half of the aspiration.
Working hard at school makes Cybele cranky. When Cybele gets cranky, she makes Dean mad. That sounds about right for brothers and sisters.
For the first time since the legacy began, there are finally six sims sitting down eating at the same time. They are eating blackened bass at midnight, but they are all eating together – and they are all eating the same thing.
Right after the meal, everyone heads off to bed just in time to miss Ethan becoming a child. Ethan chooses the social path, eats dinner, and heads off to claim an empty bed right after taking a selfie.
I keep telling myself, just one more day, just one more day and Ariella will complete her aspiration. But not today, maybe tomorrow. The family is home at the end of the week Friday. Basil gets a promotion to Imaginative Imagist and receives a Vase of Sunflowers, but Bethany continues to let me down on the promotion front.
With the sale of Basil's paintings, the family gets updated appliances for the kitchen – the Schmapple series – fridge, stove, microwave, coffee, and ice cream maker, along with a new sink.
Bethany realizes that she will be stuck in the legacy now until she can fully upgrade all of the new appliances and allows herself a bowl of homemade ice cream for breakfast before she begins.
Bethany finally receives a promotion to eSports Competitor as she decides to become an eSports Gamer. She was given a Stack of CDs to start practicing in preparation of her new duties. Mia also comes home with another promotion to Assistant Manager. While the adults are adulting, the kids are kidding..?.? Cybele and Ethan are, apparently, not friends. This is what happens when they have free will. Cybele feels triumphant after their fight while Ethan just feels beat up.
Cybele is also, apparently, quite sick with a "cold" that looks more like the spiral pox to me.
Bethany takes the rocket out for a spin since she has several days until she goes back to work. She is planning on adding bathroom facilities because that is a long time to go without going.
We finally have an abduction and they take Mia instead of Basil.
Ariella's long life has finally come to an end. She lived for many days, witnessed 57 fires (started most of them), been singed 5 times and peed herself only twice. She mastered Rocket Science and came close on Logic (level 9 and 3/4) and Cooking (level 8). She retired as a Scientist at level 10 and completed the Successful Lineage aspiration. She raised four kids and loved her three grandkids.
Rest in Peace, Ariella Brooks.


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Of Inner Cities and High Density
Amir Omar is doing his best to lose whatever sympathy he gained by being the victim of personal attacks during this election campaign. He's doing that by taking quotes from Laura Maczka out of context and spinning a "vision" for her that people who have paid attention this election campaign would never recognize (and by "people who have paid attention" I mean me.)
Here's the quote from Omar's latest mailer.
Source: Amir Omar mailer .
This quote is all that appears on a full page. Omar is clearly trying to play it up as something huge.
After the jump, my thoughts.
The quote means nothing without context. What did she say before and after those six words? My guess is that this quote was probably a slip of the tongue. Maczka probably meant to say "we are now an inner suburb" or "we are now an inner ring suburb." Even if she was attempting to draw attention to the challenges Richardson faces by comparing them to the challenges faced by "inner cities," she's right that some of the challenges are the same. All cities face the same challenges -- at different times, in different amounts -- whether you are Richardson or Dallas or Plano or Allen.
Besides my distaste for Omar's quoting out of context, I was even more turned off by Omar pledging to "push back against ... unnecessary growth." This is a retreat from pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use, transit-oriented development. Either he's merely pandering now to those who think Richardson can return to what life was like in 1950, or he has made a 180 degree turn in his own vision as expressed in his four years of service on Richardson's city council.
On his own blog, Richardson resident David Chenoweth states this retro-argument:
Some people want high density, some people don't, myself included. Traffic is already bad enough, water is already on short supply and from what the candidates are saying, this time, water rationing is not going to ever go away. High density seems to add to the problems.
Source: Just My 2 Cents Worth .
He gets it backwards. Higher density doesn't add to the problems. It relieves the problems he cites. The alternative to higher density is sprawl. Sprawl leads to more drivers traveling longer distances, exacerbating traffic problems. All those grass lawns and swimming pools in those single family houses everyone wants suck water from our dwindling water supplies, exacerbating our water shortages. Higher density does not add to these problems. It relieves them.
Whether you like higher density or not, economics is what's driving it. Sure, Frisco is still growing. But as oil prices go up and the costs of maintaining those green lawns and swimming pools go up, there's also a growing demand for housing closer to employment and transportation options. If you don't see Richardson in that sentence, you haven't been paying attention. That growing demand makes land prices in premium locations along US 75 and the President George Bush Turnpike and the DART lines too valuable to develop as single family detached housing. The rising costs of oil and water makes higher density, transit-oriented development more and more attractive whether Richardson residents like it or not. And don't dismiss the rights of those property owners who do like it, namely those who own that ever-appreciating land in those premium locations.
I thought Amir Omar understood all this. Was I wrong? Or is he merely pandering to voters who don't like development? Either way, this is the most disappointing move by Omar in this whole election campaign.
P.S. A cynical explanation of Omar's mailer is that he's trying to change the topic of conversation away from his own personal bankruptcy. What better way to change the conversation than to make a wild charge of his own, like Maczka wants more apartments "near our homeowners and more children feeding into our schools." That last bit is dog whistle politics, a topic that can burn Omar more than help him.
P.P.S. Alert readers will have noticed that my own quote from Omar's mailer was taken out of context and even used ellipses to emphasize the point I wanted to make. Maybe I should say something about sauces and ganders here.
Labels: LocalPolitics
Sassy Texan said...
Unfortunately, Amir did not take it out of context. She who videos the forum is pretty clear on that one.
Here is what she said exactly Mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XmuhMkXTCo&feature=youtu.be
Cheri, Omar did take the quote out of context. Even the few seconds of video you linked to is a snippet taken out of context. What was the question Maczka was answering. What was her full answer? Maczka talks about affordable housing, a term Omar doesn't even use in his attack ad. I'd like to hear more on the topic from both candidates, but in an open discussion, not in political attack ads.
By the way, Cheri, again you didn't sign your full name. Not everyone who reads this blog is on a first name basis with every commenter. Commenting rules require full names. Details are important.
Andy Gross (You are welcome name nazis) said...
At this point who cares.... when I look over a job offer this week I'll be thinking about moving our family to greener pastures. If that happens, out goes another high tech salary and young family.
But hey, lets suck in some lower income people to drive down property values and literacy rates while driving up crime. Sounds like a winner to me Mark.
Reminder: Comments not identified by the poster's full name are subject to deletion.
There you go Mark, since you asked nicely with a cherry on top.
Mark, I did not take it out of context. I was there. I video'd it and what is surprising is you question this when talk in the city has graduated to more and more that is vertical. John Murphy just posted something about Brick Row admitting that has not worked out because they now realize they should have gone taller, like 10-20 stories taller. Major land ownership by a very few Corporations is objectionable to me. Sorry.
With reference to water, I disagree on density having less impact with reference. Sprawl is sprawl whether it is horizontal or vertical. The City of Dallas has sued for water rights all over the state. East and South. There was even a suit a couple of years ago by the City of Irving well into Oklahoma. It will be the next precious commodity next to gold and silver. Groups have been contemplating how to securitize it for the last 10 years that I know of. The lawsuits will determine many of caveats down the road.
I may not agree with all that you write, but I respect your individualism and self thinking. So it surprises me you are voting for Laura. And by that same token Laura surprises on how well she has molded in with the narrow crowd.
Lots of unexpected changes this year!!
Cheri Duncan-Hubert
FRISCO, Texas -- Last winter, daily water usage was 150 gallons per person, but now it's 600 gallons per person. "That's all going out on those lawns," Public Works director Gary Hartwell said.
-- US Water News Online, 2001
Quoting out of context is when a "passage is removed from its surrounding matter in such a way as to distort its intended meaning." Clearly, using six words (or 30 seconds of video) from an hour long forum is removing it from its surrounding matter. There's no debate on that. Whether it distorts its intended meaning is what's at issue. Laura Maczka herself said it does. In an email, her campaign says, "When it comes to apartments, you know that Laura has always said we do not need more apartments near our neighborhoods. Period." So, did she say "inner city"? The answer is yes. Did Omar interpret that in a way that distorts its intended meaning? Maczka says yes. I believe her. If her words were intended the way Omar interprets, Omar should be able to provide more such quotes, from multiple times, places, and sources. He didn't. Instead, he used six words.
dc-tm said...
Mark, the second sentence clarified her meaning of the first sentence, "We are no longer the suburb to the north of Dallas" or something very close to that.
Taken together, it doesn't seem to be taken out of context.
David Chenoweth
Maczka's campaign has written, "When it comes to apartments, you know that Laura has always said we do not need more apartments near our neighborhoods. Period." So, even if you can quote a sentence or two that seems to contradict that, it just means she worded something carelessly, something she didn't mean as it sounded. Be thankful it happened. It caused her to reiterate, in words impossible to misunderstand, her opposition to apartments near neighborhoods.
markmont61 said...
Does it even matter to you that she is correct? There is a movement into southern Richardson of minority and lower socioeconomic families seeking a decent alternative to DISD and affordable housing along Spring Valley on both sides of 75. I am not a proponent of Section 8 housing or "the Projects" as they were called when I was a kid, but you need a rational discussion about how to handle that inevitable fact.
I guess we could take the Farmers Branch approach and say no illegal aliens followed by profiling and high enforcement, but I think we are a little better than that.
To attack her or anyone that is honestly speaking the truth is just partisan politics. Oh yeah, everyone is trying to elect a Mayor.
Mark Montgomery
Mark M,
You don't have it quite right.
In the single family neighborhoods, there is an increase in "Creative Class" persons (ala Richard Florida's "Rise of the Creative Class") into older homes and in particular the 50s ranch-modern homes on the west side.
While it is true that apartments on W. Spring Valley have been populated by minorities and they have for a few decades now had a lower level of median income, that trend is punctuated by changes that occurred during the economic downturn. What began to happen is that families from other parts of the U.S. seeking jobs have taken residence in rentals be they homes, apartments, duplexes, etc. What we see now in the south is rental occupation by families with college degreed parents who normally might have bought a house and in some cases those are even in apartments on Spring Valley. The housing is already "affordable."
So that "inevitable fact" is a trend that has been occurring for years – decades actually. Further, that "rational conversation" has been going on in these parts for a long time. The reversal of decline in the single family home areas is a result of very heavy lifting on the part of neighborhood groups and the City working as partners. It did not start with this mayoral race and both candidates are well aware of that fact.
Suburban decline (as it is called by researchers and planners) is far more widespread than in the south of Richardson and we in the south have been trying to get folks who live farther north to understand that fact.
Well away from your point is things said by the candidates and Richardson Coalition i.e. "that PAC". Both candidates have mentioned southwest Richardson by name in forums and so it seems both understand the need to implement the plans on the books. We will see how that works out. Yes it is true that Omar is misconstruing what Maczka said and it is true that her exact words do not do well to portray what she really believes. Even so what do we expect when Omar's life events have been misconstrued for political gain by "that PAC" and he feels a need to fight back in a political race? Ugliness is not acceptable to me but ugliness begets ugliness.
That said, having spoken directly to members of "that PAC" I can tell you that attitudes of some of those individuals members of "that PAC" are not aligned with the beliefs of either candidate regarding southwest Richardson. That makes the Richardson Coalition even more of an outlier than they have made of themselves since they decided to put politics above community integrity in this election.
A. Laska
"If the population of a city doubles, gross domestic product more than doubles."
-- Smithsonian Magazine.
There in a nutshell is the economic case for urban density. Urban density increases not because government forces it on us, but because people naturally understand this intuitively and move towards it.
More we can learn about urban growth:
"For a long time, policy makers have assumed it's a bad thing for cities to keep getting larger. You hear things like, 'Mexico City has grown like a cancer.' A lot of money and effort has been devoted to stemming this, and by and large it has failed miserably. Mexico City is bigger than it was ten years ago. So we think policy makers should worry instead about making those cities more livable. Without glorifying the conditions in these places, we think they're here to stay and we think they hold opportunities for the people who live there."
-- Smithsonian Magazine
The One With My Endorsement for RISD
The One With My Endorsement for Mayor
No Knockout in Mayor's Race
Airbrushing the Voters Guide
Mayor's Race Both Negative and Cynical
Would-Be Mayors Overplay Their Hands
Head Games (2012)
Mayoral Race to the Bottom
#@!% Comments
Mayoral Forums: Stay To The Bitter End
Life of Pi (2012)
April Surprise, Richardson Edition
Still No Popcorn in the RISD Election
Punching Through Central at Palisades
"Ladies First"
Push Polling for Mayor
S2L77: Red Fort of Agra
Review: The Time Keeper
How to Revitalize Collin Creek Mall
OTBR: An Ice Road over the Baltic Sea
Who Killed D.E.? A Richardson Whodunnit
Repeat Tweets: Berkner in Final Four
Mayoral Exam at UT Dallas
What Will The Mayor Do For Me?
Eaton Canyon Emergency
The Shelf Life of an Endorsement
More than Wielding a Gavel or Cutting Ribbons

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The four Lynx starters carried over from last year remain one of the most talented cores in the WNBA. Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore will fill either wing, forming the most dangerous pair of perimeter scorers in the league. Augustus has one of the prettiest – and most accurate – jump shots in the game. She's an elite scorer, and much of Minnesota's offense revolves around putting her in position to score. However, increasingly Moore is becoming an equal threat on the other side of the floor. She plays a little closer to the rim, and fills the boxscore a little more than Augustus, but she's also not afraid to fire away from outside. With Taj gone and the team carrying one fewer post player this year, we're also likely to see a bit more of 'Moore at the 4' this season, in a smallball lineup. Much of that depends on Moore's ability to develop as a defensive player, an element of her game that has sometimes let her down via mental breakdowns or silly fouls. But after an impressive start to her WNBA career, Moore was still improving as last season progressed. By the end of this season, she may well have overtaken Augustus in the discussion of potential MVP candidates emerging from Minnesota.
Lindsay Whalen will once again be running the show for the Lynx, the calm hand keeping everyone under control and getting the ball where it needs to be. She can also bully her way to the rim when necessary for her own points and while not the best defender, she knows her job within the Lynx system. With Sue Bird on the shelf this season, few people would vote for anyone else as the best point guard in the league. Completing Minnesota's core four, Rebekkah Brunson might be relied upon even more in the paint this season than before. The switch from McWilliams-Franklin to McCarville will put extra responsibility on Brunson to defend big post players, while still being expected to play help defense and leap after every available rebound. It's a job she's likely to relish, and seeing her jump out of the gym to snare a board is still an impressive sight.
The Lynx bench has some question marks, and head coach Cheryl Reeve will probably take some time working out who she can depend on for backup minutes. Devereaux Peters and Amber Harris are both back again to cover the post. Peters showed some flashes of usefulness as an energetic rebounder and finisher in her rookie year, but sometimes she's a little overzealous and ends up out of position of committing unnecessary fouls. Harris has been a disappointment in her two WNBA seasons. She has unusual athleticism and coordination for someone her size, but often seems disinterested. It's about time she took a step forward as a contributor – if she's ever going to make one. The perimeter backups feature just one holdover, and then a collection of rookies. Monica Wright will be first off the bench, a quick and attacking scorer who became a significantly more reliable backup for Augustus and Moore last season. After Candice Wiggins left for Tulsa, Whalen needed someone to spell her at the point, and that job will fall to Nebraska's Lindsey Moore. She should be able to hold the fort while Whalen rests. Then there's Australian Rachel Jarry, a tall wing with pro and Olympic experience who could be a contributor, and Sugar Rodgers, a guard from Georgetown. Even Reeve won't really know what she's getting from her reserves until we're well into the regular season.
It's going to be interesting to see what changes Reeve makes this year. The defensive system probably won't be much different, and as long as McCarville's at least passable they should be strong again at that end of the floor. The offense has relied a lot for the past two years on the pure scoring talents of players like Augustus and Moore, and it's been very successful. But when teams cut off lanes to the hoop and still challenge the barrage of jump shots the Lynx wings like to fire up – as Indiana did in the 2012 Finals – scoring can dry up if the tough shots won't fall. McCarville could give them a new angle of attack with her face up game and post passing, while Maya Moore's continued development is inevitably going to make her even more of a threat. We'll see. However they approach it, this team will inevitably win a lot of games again. It's whether they can keep winning in the postseason that will ultimately decide whether the season's regarded as a success or a failure.
This entry was posted in Minnesota Lynx, WNBA Previews and tagged Minnesota Lynx, wnba.
Will be a really interesting battle of small ball vs tall ball in the west this season. I think the Lynx can make it work and be a legit title chance again. Front court is one injury from disaster but elsewhere they are still awesome, and now have added revenge factor after last year.


text:
Tag Archives: structure
Hitting the hay
OK, so it was history last time, so I'm feeling like a bit of science today. So, here is your random question for today; are the 'leaps of faith' in the Assassin's Creed games survivable?
Between them, the characters of Altair, Ezio and Connor* jump off a wide variety of famous buildings and monuments across the five current games, but the jump that springs most readily to mind is Ezio's leap from the Campanile di San Marco, in St Mark's Square, Venice, at the end of Assassin's Creed II. It's not the highest jump made, but it is one of the most interesting and it occurs as part of the main story campaign, meaning everyone who's played the game through will have made the jump and it has some significance attached to it. It's also a well-known building with plenty of information on it.
[*Interesting fact; apparently, both Altair and Ezio translate as 'Eagle' in some form in English, as does Connor's Mohawk name (Ratonhnhaké;ton, according to Wikipedia) and the name of his ship, the Aquila. Connor itself translates as 'lover of wolves' from the original Gaelic]
The Campanile as it stands today is not the same one as in Ezio's day; in 1902 the original building collapsed and took ten years to rebuild. However, the new Campanile was made to be cosmetically (if not quite structurally) identical to the original, so current data should still be accurate. Wikipedia again tells me the brick shaft making up the bulk of the structure accounts for (apparently only) 50m of the tower's 98.6m total height, with Ezio's leap (made from the belfry just above) coming in at around 55m. With this information we can calculate Ezio's total gravitational potential energy lost during his fall; GPE lost = mgΔh, and presuming a 70kg bloke this comes to GPE lost= 33730J (Δ is, by the way, the mathematical way of expressing a change in something- in this case, Δh represents a change in height). If his fall were made with no air resistance, then all this GPE would be converted to kinetic energy, where KE = mv²/2. Solving to make v (his velocity upon hitting the ground) the subject gives v = sqrt(2*KE/m), and replacing KE with our value of the GPE lost, we get v = 31.04m/s. This tells us two things; firstly that the fall should take Ezio at least three seconds, and secondly that, without air resistance, he'd be in rather a lot of trouble.
But, we must of course factor air resistance into our calculations, but to do so to begin with we must make another assumption; that Ezio reaches terminal velocity before reaching the ground. Whether this statement is valid or not we will find out later. The terminal velocity is just a rearranged form of the drag equation: Vt=sqrt(2mg/pACd), where m= Ezio's mass (70kg, as presumed earlier), g= gravitational field strength (on Earth, 9.8m/s²), p= air density (on a warm Venetian evening at around 15 degrees Celcius, this comes out as 1.225kg/m3), A= the cross-sectional area of Ezio's falling body (call it 0.85m², presuming he's around the same size as me) and Cd= his body's drag coefficient (a number evaluating how well the air flows around his body and clothing, for which I shall pick 1 at complete random). Plugging these numbers into the equation gives a terminal velocity of 36.30m/s, which is an annoying number; because it's larger than our previous velocity value, calculated without air resistance, of 31.04m/s, this means that Ezio definitely won't have reached terminal velocity by the time he reaches the bottom of the Campanile, so we're going to have to look elsewhere for our numbers. Interestingly, the terminal velocity for a falling skydiver, without parachute, is apparently around 54m/s, suggesting that I've got numbers that are in roughly the correct ballpark but that could do with some improvement (this is probably thanks to my chosen Cd value; 1 is a very high value, selected to give Ezio the best possible chance of survival, but ho hum)
Here, I could attempt to derive an equation for how velocity varies with distance travelled, but such things are complicated, time consuming and do not translate well into being typed out. Instead, I am going to take on blind faith a statement attached to my 'falling skydiver' number quoted above; that it takes about 3 seconds to achieve half the skydiver's terminal velocity. We said that Ezio's fall from the Campanile would take him at least three seconds (just trust me on that one), and in fact it would probably be closer to four, but no matter; let's just presume he has jumped off some unidentified building such that it takes him precisely three seconds to hit the ground, at which point his velocity will be taken as 27m/s.
Except he won't hit the ground; assuming he hits his target anyway. The Assassin's Creed universe is literally littered with indiscriminate piles/carts of hay and flower petals that have been conveniently left around for no obvious reason, and when performing a leap of faith our protagonist's always aim for them (the AC wiki tells me that these were in fact programmed into the memories that the games consist of in order to aid navigation, but this doesn't matter). Let us presume that the hay is 1m deep where Ezio lands, and that the whole hay-and-cart structure is entirely successful in its task, in that it manages to reduce Ezio's velocity from 27m/s to nought across this 1m distance, without any energy being lost through the hard floor (highly unlikely, but let's be generous). At 27m/s, the 70kg Ezio has a momentum of 1890kgm/s, all of which must be dissipated through the hay across this 1m distance. This means an impulse of 1890Ns, and thus a force, will act upon him; Impulse=Force x ΔTime. This force will cause him to decelerate. If this deceleration is uniform (it wouldn't be in real life, but modelling this is tricky business and it will do as an approximation), then his average velocity during his 'slowing' period will come to be 13.5m/s, and that this deceleration will take 0.074s. Given that we now know the impulse acting on Ezio and the time for which it acts, we can now work out the force upon him; 1890 / 0.074 = 1890 x 13.5 = 26460N. This corresponds to 364.5m/s² deceleration, or around 37g's to put it in G-force terms. Given that 5g's has been known to break bones in stunt aircraft, I think it's safe to say that quite a lot more hay, Ezio's not getting up any time soon. So remember; next time you're thinking of jumping off a tall building, I would recommend a parachute over a haystack.
N.B.: The resulting deceleration calculated in the last bit seems a bit massive, suggesting I may have gone wrong somewhere, so if anyone has any better ideas of numbers/equations then feel free to leave them below. I feel here is also an appropriate place to mention a story I once heard concerning an air hostess whose plane blew up. She was thrown free, landed in a tree on the way down… and survived.
EDIT: Since writing this post, this has come into existence, more accurately calculating the drag and final velocity acting on the falling Assassin. They're more advanced than me, but their conclusion is the same; I like being proved right :).
Standard | | Tagged acceleration, air density, air resistance, Altair, approximation, Aquila, Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II, average, belfry, breaking bones, brick, Campanile, Campanile di San Marco, carts, complicated, Connor, cosmetic, cross sectional area, decelerate, delta, drag, drag coefficient, drag equation, eagle, English, Ezio, famous buildings, flower petals, force, G force, Gaelic, gaming, gravitational field strength, gravitational potential energy, gravity, hay, height, highest, history, impulse, information, jump, kinetic energy, leap of faith, mass, Mohawk, momentum, monuments, navigation, parachute, piles, protagonists, random question, science, shaft, significance, skydiver, speed, St Mark's Square, statement, story campaign, structure, stunt aircraft, terminal velocity, time, time-consuming, uniform, universe, valid, velocity, Venice, video games, Wikipedia	| 0 comments
The Epitome of Nerd-dom
A short while ago, I did a series of posts on computing based on the fact that I had done a lot of related research when studying the installation of Linux. I feel that I should now come clean and point out that between the time of that first post being written and now, I have tried and failed to install Ubuntu on an old laptop six times already, which has served to teach me even more about exactly how it works, and how it differs from is more mainstream competitors. So, since I don't have any better ideas, I thought I might dedicate this post to Linux itself.
Linux is named after both its founder, Linus Torvalds, a Finnish programmer who finished compiling the Linux kernel in 1992, and Unix, the operating system that could be considered the grandfather of all modern OSs and which Torvalds based his design upon (note- whilst Torvald's first name has a soft, extended first syllable, the first syllable of the word Linux should be a hard, short, sharp 'ih' sound). The system has its roots in the work of Richard Stallman, a lifelong pioneer and champion of the free-to-use, open source movement, who started the GNU project in 1983. His ultimate goal was to produce a free, Unix-like operating system, and in keeping with this he wrote a software license allowing anyone to use and distribute software associated with it so long as they stayed in keeping with the license's terms (ie nobody can use the free software for personal profit). The software compiled as part of the GNU project was numerous (including a still widely-used compiler) and did eventually come to fruition as an operating system, but it never caught on and the project was, in regards to its achieving of its final aims, a failure (although the GNU General Public License remains the most-used software license of all time).
Torvalds began work on Linux as a hobby whilst a student in April 1991, using another Unix clone MINIX to write his code in and basing it on MINIX's structure. Initially, he hadn't been intending to write a complete operating system at all, but rather a type of display interface called a terminal emulator- a system that tries to emulate a graphical terminal, like a monitor, through a more text-based medium (I don't really get it either- it's hard to find information a newbie like me can make good sense of). Strictly speaking a terminal emulator is a program, existing independent of an operating system and acting almost like one in its own right, directly within the computer's architecture. As such, the two are somewhat related and it wasn't long before Torvalds 'realised' he had written a kernel for an operating system and, since the GNU operating system had fallen through and there was no widespread, free-to-use kernel out there, he pushed forward with his project. In August of that same year he published a now-famous post on a kind of early internet forum called Usenet, saying that he was developing an operating system that was "starting to get ready", and asking for feedback concerning where MINIX was good and where it was lacking, "as my OS resembles it somewhat". He also, interestingly, said that his OS "probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks". How wrong that statement has proved to be.
When he finally published Linux, he originally did so under his own license- however, he borrowed heavily from GNU software in order to make it run properly (so to have a proper interface and such), and released later versions under the GNU GPL. Torvalds and his associates continue to maintain and update the Linux kernel (Version 3.0 being released last year) and, despite some teething troubles with those who have considered it old-fashioned, those who thought MINIX code was stolen (rather than merely borrowed from), and Microsoft (who have since turned tail and are now one of the largest contributors to the Linux kernel), the system is now regarded as the pinnacle of Stallman's open-source dream.
One of the keys to its success lies in its constant evolution, and the interactivity of this process. Whilst Linus Torvalds and co. are the main developers, they write very little code themselves- instead, other programmers and members of the Linux community offer up suggestions, patches and additions to either the Linux distributors (more on them later) or as source code to the kernel itself. All the main team have to do is pick and choose the features they want to see included, and continually prune what they get to maximise the efficiency and minimise the vulnerability to viruses of the system- the latter being one of the key features that marks Linux (and OS X) over Windows. Other key advantages Linux holds includes its size and the efficiency with which it allocates CPU usage; whilst Windows may command a quite high percentage of your CPU capacity just to keep itself running, not counting any programs running on it, Linux is designed to use your CPU as efficiently as possible, in an effort to keep it running faster. The kernel's open source roots mean it is easy to modify if you have the technical know-how, and the community of followers surrounding it mean that any problem you have with a standard distribution is usually only a few button clicks away. Disadvantages include a certain lack of user-friendliness to the uninitiated or not computer-literate user since a lot of programs require an instruction typed into the command bar, far fewer programs, especially commercial, professional ones, than Windows, an inability to process media as well as OS X (which is the main reason Apple computers appear to exist), and a tendency to go wrong more frequently than commercial operating systems. Nonetheless, many 'computer people' consider this a small price to pay and flock to the kernel in their thousands.
However, the Linux kernel alone is not enough to make an operating system- hence the existence of distributions. Different distributions (or 'distros' as they're known) consist of the Linux kernel bundled together with all the other features that make up an OS: software, documentation, window system, window manager, and desktop interface, to name but some. A few of these components, such as the graphical user interface (or GUI, which covers the job of several of the above components), or the package manager (that covers program installation, removal and editing), tend to be fairly ubiquitous (GNOME or KDE are common GUIs, and Synaptic the most typical package manager), but different people like their operating system to run in slightly different ways. Therefore, variations on these other components are bundled together with the kernel to form a distro, a complete package that will run as an operating system in exactly the same fashion as you would encounter with Windows or OS X. Such distros include Ubuntu (the most popular among beginners), Debian (Ubuntu's older brother), Red Hat, Mandriva and Crunchbang- some of these, such as Ubuntu, are commercially backed enterprises (although how they make their money is a little beyond me), whilst others are entirely community-run, maintained solely thanks to the dedication, obsession and boundless free time of users across the globe.
If you're not into all this computer-y geekdom, then there is a lot to dislike about Linux, and many an average computer user would rather use something that will get them sneered at by a minority of elitist nerds but that they know and can rely upon. But, for all of our inner geeks, the spirit, community, inventiveness and joyous freedom of the Linux system can be a wonderful breath of fresh air. Thank you, Mr. Torvalds- you have made a lot of people very happy.
Standard | | Tagged 'computer people', additions, advantages, Apple, architecture, AT-harddisks, champion, command bar, commercial, commercially backed, community, community run, competitors, compiler, compiling, computer architecture, computer literate, computing, constant evolution, CPU, CPU efficiency, CPU usage, Crunchbang, Debian, dedicate, dedication, desktop interface, developers, differences, disadvantages, dislike, display interface, distribution, distro, documentation, efficiency, elitist, evolution, features, Fedora, feedback, Finnish, forum, free, free time, free to use, freedom, geeks, GNOME, GNU, GNU GPL, GNU project, GNU software, graphical user interface, GUI, hard disk, hobby, installation, interactivity, internet forum, inventiveness, KDE, kernel, Linus Torvalds, Linux, Linux kernel, mainstream, Mandriva, media, media processing, medium, Microsoft, MINIX, minority, modify, nerds, obsession, open source, operating system, OS, OS X, package manager, patches, personal profit, pinnacle, pioneer, profit, program, programmer, programs, Red Hat, research, Richard Stallman, software, software licencse, spirit, structure, student, suggestions, Synaptic, teething troubles, terminal emulator, ubiquitous, Ubuntu, uninitiated, Unix, Usenet, user-friendliness, viruses, vulnerability, vulnerability to viruses, window manager, window system, wrong	| 0 comments
Attack of the Blocks
I spend far too much time on the internet. As well as putting many hours of work into trying to keep this blog updated regularly, I while away a fair portion of time on Facebook, follow a large number of video series' and webcomics, and can often be found wandering through the recesses of YouTube (an interesting and frequently harrowing experience that can tell one an awful lot about the extremes of human nature). But there is one thing that any resident of the web cannot hope to avoid for any great period of time, and quite often doesn't want to- the strange world of Minecraft.
Since its release as a humble alpha-version indie game in 2009, Minecraft has boomed to become a runaway success and something of a cultural phenomenon. By the end of 2011, before it had even been released in its final release format, Minecraft had registered 4 million purchases and 4 times that many registered users, which isn't bad for a game that has never advertised itself, spread semi-virally among nerdy gamers for its mere three-year history and was made purely as an interesting project by its creator Markus Persson (aka Notch). Thousands of videos, ranging from gameplay to some quite startlingly good music videos (check out the work of Captain Sparklez if you haven't already) litter YouTube and many of the games' features (such as TNT and the exploding mobs known as Creepers) have become memes in their own right to some degree.
So then, why exactly has Minecraft succeeded where hundreds and thousands of games have failed, becoming a revolution in gamer culture? What is it that makes Minecraft both so brilliant, and so special?
Many, upon being asked this question, tend to revert to extolling the virtues of the game's indie nature. Being created entirely without funding as an experiment in gaming rather than profit-making, Minecraft's roots are firmly rooted in the humble sphere of independent gaming, and it shows. One obvious feature is the games inherent simplicity- initially solely featuring the ability to wander around, place and destroy blocks, the controls are mainly (although far from entirely) confined to move and 'use', whether that latter function be shoot, slash, mine or punch down a tree. The basic, cuboid, 'blocky' nature of the game's graphics, allowing for both simplicity of production and creating an iconic, retro aesthetic that makes it memorable and standout to look at. Whilst the game has frequently been criticised for not including a tutorial (I myself took a good quarter of an hour to find out that you started by punching a tree, and a further ten minutes to work out that you were supposed to hold down the mouse button rather than repeatedly click), this is another common feature of indie gaming, partly because it saves time in development, but mostly because it makes the game feel like it is not pandering to you and thus allowing indie gamers to feel some degree of elitism that they are good enough to work it out by themselves. This also ties in with the very nature of the game- another criticism used to be (and, to an extent, still is, even with the addition of the Enderdragon as a final win objective) that the game appeared to be largely devoid of point, existent only for its own purpose. This is entirely true, whether you view that as a bonus or a detriment being entirely your own opinion, and this idea of an unfamiliar, experimental game structure is another feature common in one form or another to a lot of indie games.
However, to me these do not seem to be entirely worthy of the name 'answers' regarding the question of Minecraft's phenomenal success. The reason I think this way is that they do not adequately explain exactly why Minecraft rose to such prominence whilst other, often similar, indie games have been left in relative obscurity. Limbo, for example, is a side-scrolling platformer and a quite disturbing, yet compelling, in-game experience, with almost as much intrigue and puzzle from a set of game mechanics simpler even than those of Minecraft. It has also received critical acclaim often far in excess of Minecraft (which has received a positive, but not wildly amazed, response from critics), and yet is still known to only an occasional few. Amnesia: The Dark Descent has been often described as the greatest survival horror game in history, as well as incorporating a superb set of graphics, a three-dimensional world view (unlike the 2D view common to most indie games) and the most pants-wettingly terrifying experience anyone who's ever played it is likely to ever face- but again, it is confined to the indie realm. Hell, Terraria is basically Minecraft in 2D, but has sold around 40 times less than Minecraft itself. All three of these games have received fairly significant acclaim and coverage, and rightly so, but none has become the riotous cultural phenomenon that Minecraft has, and neither have had an Assassin's Creed mod (first example that sprung to mind).
So… why has Minecraft been so successful. Well, I'm going to be sticking my neck out here, but to my mind it's because it doesn't play like an indie game. Whilst most independently produced titled are 2D, confined to fairly limited surroundings and made as simple & basic as possible to save on development (Amnesia can be regarded as an exception), Minecraft takes it own inherent simplicity and blows it up to a grand scale. It is a vast, open world sandbox game, with vague resonances of the Elder Scrolls games and MMORPG's, taking the freedom, exploration and experimentation that have always been the advantages of this branch of the AAA world, and combined them with the innovative, simplistic gaming experience of its indie roots. In some ways it's similar to Facebook, in that it takes a simple principle and then applies it to the largest stage possible, and both have enjoyed a similarly explosive rise to fame. The randomly generated worlds provide infinite caverns to explore, endless mobs to slay, all the space imaginable to build the grandest of castles, the largest of cathedrals, or the SS Enterprise if that takes your fancy. There are a thousand different ways to play the game on a million different planes, all based on just a few simple mechanics. Minecraft is the best of indie and AAA blended together, and is all the more awesome for it.
Standard | | Tagged 2D, 3D, AAA, advertising, aesthetic, alpha release, Amnesia, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, answers, Assassin's Creed, awesome, basic, blocks, blocky, blog, Captain Sparklez, castles, cathedrals, Creepers, critical acclaim, criticism, cultural phenomenon, destroy, development, Elder Scrolls, elitism, experimental, experimentation, exploration, facebook, freedom, funding, gameplay videos, gamers, graphics, harrowing, human nature, iconic, independent, indie, indie game, indie nature, interesting, internet, Limbo, Markus Persson, mine, Minecraft, MMORPG's, mobs, mod, move, music videos, nerdy, nerdy gamers, Notch, obscurity, open-world, pandering, place, platformer, point, profit-making, punch, punch a tree, sandbox, shoot, side-scrolling, simplicity, slash, SS Enterprise, structure, success, Terraria, terrifying, time, TNT, tutorial, unfamiliar, update, use, vast, video series, viral, webcomics, Youtube	| 0 comments
Scrum Solutions
First up- sorry I suddenly disappeared over last week. I was away, and although I'd planned to tell WordPress to publish a few for me (I have a backlog now and everything), I was unfortunately away from my computer on Saturday and could not do so. Sorry. Today I would like to follow on from last Wednesday's post dealing with the problems faced in the modern rugby scrum, to discuss a few solutions that have been suggested for dealing with the issue, and even throw in a couple of ideas of my own. But first, I'd like to offer my thoughts to another topic that has sprung up amid the chaos of scrummaging discussions (mainly by rugby league fans): the place, value and even existence of the scrum.
As the modern game has got faster and more free-flowing, the key focus of the game of rugby union has shifted. Where once entire game plans were built around the scrum and (especially) lineout, nowadays the battle of the breakdown is the vital one, as is so ably demonstrated by the world's current openside flanker population. Thus, the scrum is becoming less and less important as a tactical tool, and the extremists may argue that it is no more than a way to restart play. This is the exact situation that has been wholeheartedly embraced by rugby league, where lineouts are non-existent and scrums are an uncontested way of restarting play after a minor infringement. To some there is, therefore, something of a crossroads: do we as a game follow the league path of speed and fluidity at the expense of structure, or stick to our guns and keep the scrum (and set piece generally) as a core tenet of our game?
There is no denying that our modern play style, centred around fast rucks and ball-in-hand play, is certainly faster and more entertaining than its slow, sluggish predecessor, if only for the fans watching it, and has certainly helped transform rugby union into the fun, flowing spectators game we know and love today. However having said that, if we just wanted to watch players run with the ball and nothing else of any interest to happen, then we'd all just go and play rugby league, and whilst league is certainly a worthwhile sport (with, among other things, the most passionate fans of any sport on earth), there is no point trying to turn union into its clone. In any case, the extent to which league as a game has been simplified has meant that there are now hardly any infringements or stoppages to speak of and that a scrum is a very rare occurence. This is very much unlike its union cousin, and to do away with the scrum as a tool in the union code would perhaps not suit the game as well as it does in union. Thus, it is certainly worth at least trying to prevent the scrum turning into a dour affair of constant collapses and resets before everyone dies of boredom and we simply scrap the thing.
(I know I've probably broken my 'no Views' rule here, but I could go on all day about the various arguments and I'd like to get onto some solutions)
The main problem with the modern scrum according to the IRB concerns the engage procedure- arguing (as do many other people) that trying to restrain eight athletes straining to let rip their strength is a tough task for even the stoutest front rower, they have this year changed the engage procedure to omit the 'pause' instruction from the 'crouch, touch, pause, engage' sequence. Originally included to both help the early players structure their engagement (thus ensuring they didn't have to spend too much time bent down too far) and to ensure the referee had control over the engagement, they are now arguing that it has no place in the modern game and that it is time to see what effect getting rid of it will have (they have also replaced the 'engage' instruction with 'set' to reduce confusion about which syllable to engage on).
Whether this will work or not is a matter of some debate. It's certainly a nice idea- speaking as a forward myself, I can attest that giving the scrum time to wind itself up is perhaps not the best way to ensure they come together in a safe, controlled fashion. However, what this does do is place a lot of onus on the referee to get his timing right. If the 'crouch, touch, set' procedure is said too quickly, it can be guaranteed that one team will not have prepared themselves properly and the whole engagement will be a complete mess. Say it too slowly, and both sides will have got themselves all wound up and we'll be back to square one again. I suppose we'll all find out how well it works come the new season (although I do advise giving teams time to settle back in- I expect to see a lot of packs waiting for a split second on the 'set' instruction as they wait for the fourth command they are so used to)
Other solutions have also been put forward. Many advocate a new law demanding gripping areas on the shirts of front row players to ensure they have something to get hold of on modern, skintight shirts, although the implementation of such a law would undoubtedly be both expensive and rather chaotic for all concerned, which is presumably why the IRB didn't go for it. With the increasing use and importance of the Television Match Official (TMO) in international matches, there are a few suggesting that both they and the line judge should be granted extra responsibilities at scrum time to ensure the referee's attention is not distracted, but it is understandable that referees do not want to be patronised by and become over-reliant on a hardly universally present system where the official in question is wholly dependent on whether the TV crews think that the front row binding will make a good shot.
However, whilst these ideas may help to prevent the scrum collapsing, with regards to the scrum's place in the modern game they are little more than papering over the cracks. On their own, they will not change the way the game is played and will certainly not magically bring the scrum back to centre stage in the professional game.
For that to happen though, things may have to change quite radically. We must remember that the scrum as an invention is over 150 years old and was made for a game that has since changed beyond all recognition, so it could well be time that it began to reflect that. It's all well and good playing the running game of today, but if the scrum starts to become little more than a restart then it has lost all its value. However, it is also true that if it is allowed to simply become a complete lottery, then the advantage for the team putting the ball in is lost and everyone just gets frustrated with it.
An answer could be (to pick an example idea) to turn the scrum into a more slippery affair, capable of moving back and forth far more easily than it can at the moment, almost more like a maul than anything else. This would almost certainly require radical changes regarding the structure and engagement of it- perhaps we should say that any number of players (between, say, three and ten) can take part in a scrum, in the same way as happens at lineouts, thereby introducing a tactical element to the setup and meaning that some sneaky trickery and preplanned plays could turn an opposition scrum on its head. Perhaps the laws on how the players are allowed to bind up should be relaxed, forcing teams to choose between a more powerful pushing setup and a looser one allowing for faster attacking & defending responses. Perhaps a law should be trialled demanding that if two teams engaged correctly, but the scrum collapsed because one side went lower than the other then the free kick would be awarded to the 'lower' side, thus placing a greater onus on technique over sheer power and turning the balance of the scrum on its head. Would any of these work? Maybe not, but they're ideas.
I, obviously, do not have all the definitive answers, and I couldn't say I'm a definite advocate of any of the ideas I voiced above (especially the last one, now I think how ridiculously impractical it would be to manage). But it is at least worth thinking about how much the game has evolved since the scrum's invention, and whether it's time for it to catch up.
Standard | | Tagged advocate, binding laws, centre stage, change, changed, clone, controlled, crouch touch pause engage, crouch touch set, definitive answers, engagement procedure, entertaining, existence, fans, faster, fluidity, focus, free-flowing, game plans, gripping areas, idea, ideas, implementation, IRB, lottery, main problem, modern, new season, number of players, old, onus, openside flanker, pace, papering over the cracks, place, play style, radical, referee, responsibilities, restart, restraining, rugby, rugby league, safe, scrum, set piece, shifted, simplification, skintight shirts, slippery, slow, sluggish, solutions, spectator sport, speed, structure, tactics, timing, TMO, tool, TV crews, value, View, wind up	| 0 comments
OK, I'm going to take a bit of a risk on this one- I'm going to dip back into the world of film reviewing. I've tried this once before over the course of this blog (about The Hunger Games) and it went about as well as a booze-up in a monastery (although it did get me my first ever comment!). However, never one to shirk from a challenge I thought I might try again, this time with something I'm a little more overall familiar with: Christopher Nolan's conclusion to his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises.
Christopher Nolan has never been one to make his plots simple and straightforward (he did do Inception after all), but most of his previous efforts have at least tried to focus on only one or two things at a time. In Dark Knight Rises however, he has gone ambitious, trying to weave no less than 6 different storylines into one film. Not only that, but 4 of those are trying to explore entirely new characters and a fifth pretty much does the whole 'road to Batman' origins story that was done in Batman Begins. That places the onus of the film firmly on its characters and their development, and trying to do that properly to so many new faces was always going to push everyone for space, even in a film that's nearly 3 hours long.
So, did it work? Well… kind of. Some characters seem real and compelling pretty much from the off, in the same way that Joker did in The Dark Knight- Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle (not once referred to as Catwoman in the entire film) is a little bland here and there and we don't get to see much of the emotion that supposedly drives her, but she is (like everyone else) superbly acted and does the 'femme fakickass' thing brilliantly, whilst Joseph Gordon Levitt's young cop John Blake (who gets a wonderful twist to his character right at the end) is probably the most- and best-developed character of the film, adding some genuine emotional depth. Michael Caine is typically brilliant as Alfred, this time adding his own kick to the 'origins' plot line, and Christian Bale finally gets to do what no other Batman film has done before- make Batman/Bruce Wayne the most interesting part of the film.
However, whilst the main good guys' story arcs are unique among Batman films by being the best parts of the film, some of the other elements don't work as well. For someone who is meant to be a really key part of the story, Marion Cotillard's Miranda Tate gets nothing that gives her character real depth- lots of narration and exposition, but we see next to none of her for huge chunks of the film and she just never feels like she matters very much. Tom Hardy as Bane suffers from a similar problem- he was clearly designed in the mould of Ducard (Liam Neeson) in Begins, acting as an overbearing figure of control and power that Batman simply doesn't have (rather than the pure terror of Joker's madness), but his actual actions never present him as anything other just a device to try and give the rest of the film a reason to happen, and he never appears to have any genuinely emotional investment or motivation in anything he's doing. Part of the problem is his mask- whilst clearly a key feature of his character, it makes it impossible to see his mouth and bunches up his cheeks into an immovable pair of blobs beneath his eyes, meaning there is nothing visible for him to express feeling with, effectively turning him into a blunt machine rather than a believable bad guy. There's also an entire arc concerning Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and his guilt over letting Batman take the blame for Harvey Dent's death that is barely explored at all, but thankfully it's so irrelevant to the overall plot that it might as well not be there at all.
It is, in many ways, a crying shame, because there are so many things the film does so, so right. The actual plot is a rollercoaster of an experience, pushing the stakes high and the action (in typical Nolan fashion) through the roof. The cinematography is great, every actor does a brilliant job in their respective roles and a lot of the little details- the pit & its leap to freedom, the 'death by exile' sequence and the undiluted awesome that is The Bat- are truly superb. In fact if Nolan had just decided on a core storyline and focus and then stuck with it as a solid structure, then I would probably still not have managed to wipe the inane grin off my face. But by being as ambitious as he has done, he has just squeezed screen time away from where it really needed to be, and turned the whole thing into a structural mess that doesn't really know where it's going at times. It's a tribute to how good the good parts are that the whole experience is still such good fun, but it's such a shame to see a near-perfect film let down so badly.
The final thing I have to say about the film is simply: go and see it. Seriously, however bad you think this review portrays it as, if you haven't seen the film yet and you at all liked the other two (or any other major action blockbuster with half a brain), then get down to your nearest cinema and give it a watch. I can't guarantee that you'll have your greatest ever filmgoing experience there, but I can guarantee that it'll be a really entertaining way to spend a few hours, and you certainly won't regret having seen it.
Standard | | Tagged acting, action, Alfred, ambitious, Anne Hathaway, bad guys, Bane, Batman, Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne, Catwoman, character, character development, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, cinematography, Commissioner Gordon, complex, control, Dark Knight Rises, death by exile, depth, Ducard, emotional depth, emotional investment, exposition, Film, film review, Gary Oldman, good fun, good guys, guilt, Hunger Games, Inception, irrelevant, John Blake, Joker, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Liam Neeson, madness, Marion Cotillard, mask, Michael Caine, Miranda Tate, motivation, movie, narration, onus, overbearing, plot, plotline, power, Robin, rollercoaster story, screenwriting, see it, Selina Kyle, simple, story arc, storyline, straightforward, structural mess, structure, The Bat, The Dark Knight, Tom Hardy	| 0 comments
Why do we call a writer a bard, anyway?
In Britain at the moment, there are an awful lot of pessimists. Nothing unusual about this, as it's hardly atypical human nature and my country has never been noted for its sunny, uplifting outlook on life as a rule anyway. Their pessimism is typically of the sort adopted by people who consider themselves too intelligent (read arrogant) to believe in optimism and nice things anyway, and nowadays tends to focus around Britain's place in the world. "We have nothing world-class" they tend to say, or "The Olympics are going to be totally rubbish" if they wish to be topical.
However, whilst I could dedicate an entire post to the ramblings of these people, I would probably have to violate my 'no Views' clause by the end of it, so will instead focus on one apparent inconsistency in their argument. You see, the kind of people who say this sort of thing also tend to be the kind of people who really, really like the work of William Shakespeare.
There is no denying that the immortal Bard (as he is inexplicably known) is a true giant of literature. He is the only writer of any form to be compulsory reading on the national curriculum and is known of by just about everyone in the world, or at least the English-speaking part. He introduced between 150 and 1500 new words to the English language (depending on who you believe and how stringent you are in your criteria) as well as countless phrases ranging from 'bug-eyed monster' (Othello) to 'a sorry sight' (Macbeth), wrote nearly 40 plays, innumerable sonnets and poems, and revolutionised theatre of his time. As such he is idolised above all other literary figures, Zeus in the pantheon of the Gods of the written word, even in our modern age. All of which is doubly surprising when you consider how much of what he wrote was… well… crap.
I mean think about it- Romeo and Juliet is about a romance that ends with both lovers committing suicide over someone they've only known for three days, whilst Twelfth Night is nothing more than a romcom (in fact the film 'She's the Man' turned it into a modern one), and not a great one at that. Julius Caesar is considered even by fans to be the most boring way to spend a few hours in known human history, the character of Othello is the dopiest human in history and A Midsummer Night's Dream is about some fairies falling in love with a guy who turns into a donkey. That was considered, by Elizabethans, the very height of comedic expression.
So then, why is he so idolised? The answer is, in fact, remarkably simple: Shakespeare did stuff that was new. During the 16th century theatre hadn't really evolved from its Greek origins, and as such every play was basically the same. Every tragedy had the exact same formulaic plot line of tragic flaw-catharsis-death, which, whilst a good structure used to great effect by Arthur Miller and the guy who wrote the plot for the first God of War game, does tend to lose interest after 2000 years of ceaseless repetition. Comedies & satyrs had a bit more variety, but were essentially a mixture of stereotypes and pantomime that might have been entertaining had they not been mostly based on tired old stories, philosophy and mythology and been so unfunny that they required a chorus (who were basically a staged audience meant to show how the audience how to react). In any case there was hardly any call for these comedies anyway- they were considered the poorer cousins to the more noble and proper tragedy, amusing sideshows to distract attention from the monotony of the main dish. And then, of course, there were the irreversibly fixed tropes and rules that had to be obeyed- characters were invariably all noble and kingly (in fact it wasn't until the 1920's that the idea of a classical tragedy of the common man was entertained at all) and spoke with rigid rhythm, making the whole experience more poetic than imitative of real life. The iambic pentameter was king, the new was non-existent, and there was no concept whatsoever that any of this could change.
Now contrast this with, say, Macbeth. This is (obviously) a tragedy, about a lord who, rather than failing to recognise a tragic flaw in his personality until right at the very end and then holding out for a protracted death scene in which to explain all of it (as in a Greek tragedy), starts off a good and noble man who is sent mental by a trio of witches. Before Shakespeare's time a playwright could be lynched before he made such insulting suggestions about the noble classes (and it is worth noting that Macbeth wasn't written until he was firmly established as a playwright), but Shakespeare was one of the first of a more common-born group of playwrights, raised an actor rather than aristocrat. The main characters may be lords & kings it is true (even Shakespeare couldn't shake off the old tropes entirely, and it would take a long time for that to change), but the driving forces of the plot are all women, three of whom are old hags who speak in an irregular chanting and make up heathen prophecies. Then there is an entire monologue dedicated to an old drunk bloke, speaking just as irregularly, mumbling on about how booze kills a boner, and even the main characters get in on the act, with Macbeth and his lady scrambling structureless phrases as they fairly shit themselves in fear of discovery. Hell, he even managed to slip in an almost comic moment of parody as Macbeth compares his own life to that of a play (which, of course, it is. He pulls a similar trick in As You Like It)
This is just one example- there are countless more. Romeo and Juliet was one of the first examples of romance used as the central driving force of a tragedy, The Tempest was the Elizabethan version of fantasy literature and Henry V deserves a mention for coming up with some of the best inspirational quotes of all time. Unsurprisingly, whilst Shakespeare was able to spark a revolution at home, other countries were rocked by his radicalism- the French especially were sharply divided into two camps, one supporting this theatrical revolution (such as Voltaire) and the other vehemently opposing it. It didn't do any good- the wheels had been set in motion, and for the next 500 years theatre and literature continued (and continues) to evolve at a previously unprecedented rate. Nowadays, the work of Shakespeare seems to us as much of a relic as the old Greek tragedies must have appeared to him, but as theatre has moved on so too has our expectations of it (such as, for instance, jokes that are actually funny and speech we can understand without a scholar on hand). Shakespeare may not have told the best stories or written the best plays to our ears, but that doesn't mean he wasn't the best playwright.
Standard | | Tagged A Midsummer Night's Dream, arrogant, Arthur Miller, boredom, Britain, bug-eyed monster, catharsis, chorus, comedy, death, donkey, drunk, falling in love, fame, fixed, formulaic, France, God of War, Greek comedy, Greek theatre, Greek tragedy, hag, Henry V, human nature, iambic pentameter, immortal bard, intelligent, Julius Caesar, kings, Lady Macbeth, literature, lord, love, lynched, Macbeth, mad, mental, national curriculum, new, new worth, Olympics, Othello, pessimism, play, playwright, poem, poet, poetry, radicalism, repetition, revolution, romcom, Romeo and Juliet, rules, satyr, Shakespeare, sorry sight, story, Stratford-upon-Avon, structure, suicide, the Bard, The Tempest, theatre, tragedy, tragic flaw, tropes, Twelfth Night, Voltaire, William Shakespeare, witches, work of william shakespeare, writer	| 0 comments