The Kobayashi Maru in Real Life: Beating the No-Win Scenario
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"We're dead in space......."
"How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life."
-James T. Kirk, Admiral, Starfleet
Ah, the Kobayashi Maru. The "coming of age" of each Starfleet cadet that aspires to command a ship of their own. The test is simple in that it provides no outcome that leads to obtaining all of the objectives, and essentially, is a no-win scenario. James T Kirk didn't believe in that scenario, and neither do alot of people. Take the Apollo 13 mission, and those immortal words, "Failure is not an option." Same deal.
The quote from Kirk above is telling in that while it is important that we deal with life as best we can, we also must accept and deal with death in the same way, for one does not exist without the other. In other words, the circle of life. (Insert bad Lion King reference here) Seriously, isn't this true? Do we not all try to do this over the course of our lives? We must adapt to life's details, while at the same time understanding our own mortality, and that of the ones we care about. Each of us must face it in our own way.
Kirk's message is not only timeless, but exemplifies Star Trek's way of giving us a message, while entertaining us. Humanity is a big, complex, and ever-changing exercise in thought, and should be for all of us.
Once in awhile we can cheat what we know is inevitable, but that luck only lasts so long.
Your Test of Command
Your ship is surrounded by Klingons, and all your weapons are damaged. You next decision is to:
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Don't even get me started on this topic (though not exactly the topic you had in mind)... in Star Trek nerddom, it's a point of pride to know all the obscure trivia -- what happened during the Kobiyashi Maru, what Kirk's middle name is -- and then the otherwise fantastic new movie (oh, the tangents I'd like to go on here) went and made SO much of that obscure nerd trivia public knowledge. What, now suddenly people who wouldn't recognize Nichelle Nichols if she punched them in the face suddenly have the same cred?
Yes, I'm unreasonably possessively jealous of my nerd-cred. Yes, I should probably not get so worked up at a mere phrase in a Hub title. But, as with all things Star Trek, it's a good-natured worked-up. (Until JJ fails me and ends up NOT going back and tying up the timeline to align with cannon, that is. Then you'll see me in a not-so-good-natured state of work-up.)
Q'apla! Thanks for the lens -- I need a good Trek work-up first thing in the morning. Gets the juices flowing.
You, my dear, are awesome.......
I have no other words. Just, awesome.
melpor Level 4 Commenter 9 months ago
thejeffriestube, very interesting hub on an interesting thought.