I see an opportunity to spread rationality a little. One of the Ajah (subdivisions) of the Tower is specifically concerned with pursuing truth, logic etc. which means if I joined it, I would have no trouble teaching a class or two with some material from the Sequences. I wonder if any of us here have done things like that in the past?
Are you serious? I was a Warder in the same White Tower on that MUD. My Sedai (Cate) was a Brown—the other of the two ‘Academic’ Ajah. The Brown Ajah are a bit more worldly (and more scientific than philosophical) so our research involved near daily ‘field trips’ to investigate the Seanchan continent and rather a lot of collection of severed heads from inside Seandar itself.
truth, map/territory
This is the obvious one. I mean… come on. The vast majority of you will actually use maps on your computer. The maps you have are almost certainly not perfect—mine was close but when new zones are added or changes are made the map is going to be wrong. Following the map will make you crash into the wall, slow you down for a pulse and give the guy with the red or purple asterisks on their name the chance opportunity to hit you.
You could extent this by looking at how the map available to the character are not even the same as the territory. That is, if you don’t practice enough search you cannot open that door. If you don’t practice enough track you don’t see tracks the same way. But the territory itself is no different.
what is evidence
rational evidence vs other kinds of evidence
Talk about SMOBs. How much evidence the load one time is about how often the SMOB loads that item in the future. Does getting the load this time make it more or less likely that it will load next repop? (Including the few exceptions where it does make a difference.)
Part 2 : Cognitive biases
which ones would be most interesting/simple/useful to teach about?
obviously i need to start with how knowing about biases can hurt you...
what examples would you use?
I think I’m using Brown Ajah thinking again in as much as all the examples springing to mind are the ones that are real world (from their perspective) applicable (it’s what I would do if I logged in as Cate and was teaching her class for her). So:
Sunk Cost—does the fact that you’ve spent the last 20 minutes chasing *Fantus* make it more worthwhile to risk it and charge into Falme after him than if you had just arrived and hadn’t invested any effort yet?
While you are at it, teach them expected utility calculations. Those things are awesome. ie. Is it better to go on a smobbing run with just the bonded pair and keep all the loot ourselves or to take others and be a somewhat safer, a little quicker but have to share the loot around? If I have a 90% chance of surviving a fight against two trollocs with enormous axes, 70% chance of killing one of them and 30% chance of killing both but I am wielding the Ancient Greatsword Justice and Jewelled Wristcuffs should I stay and fight or flee?
What is the name of the bias where humans feel like they are doing something worthwhile just because they gain lots of (largely useless, non-transferable) status, form (non-strategically useful, text only) connections with other people and acquire a steady stream of (irrelevant, text based) resources? Research that bias. This should prompt you to log in, find a weird looking stone pillar, type “embrace; channel ‘create food’” then repeat until you get the message “You feel no connection at all to the True Source.” That is the best way I know to counter the cognitive bias that makes you want to play MUD!
Or is the very idea of teaching Bayes in such a setting an outrageous underestimation of the inferential distance?
You’re a White. The sort of Novices that would bother going to a White’s classes for anything other than brown nosing would expect that sort of thing. It is pretty much exactly what they are supposed to be doing. If you used in game examples it’d probably stick with a couple and for those who don’t actually learn Bayes theorem they may learn the notion “hey, sometimes I can calculate probabilities for things and it helps!”—a good start.
Wait, what, you’re actually Wedrifid as in Wedrifid? I always thought it was a coincidence. We were clanmates then. Earle, before I declanned him. (Got a better-statted Warder now)
Also, great reply, thank you. But some of the stuff you suggest is OOC, and I’m talking about an IC class. Mostly I’m thinking about “playing wotmud”, can’t talk about that in-character.
You’re a White.
Red currently, thank you very much. ;) Just thinking about switching for this. In any case, I’ll doubt I’ll have much attendance if try to make it just for White students. The game is smaller than it used to be.
Wait, what, you’re actually Wedrifid as in Wedrifid? I always thought it was a coincidence.
The one and only—I believe literally, across the internet. I mean seriously, wedrifid? Who would use that as a name?
We were clanmates then. Earle, before I declanned him. (Got a better-statted Warder now)
No doubt created with the newfandangled system whereby you can choose a name then type “restat” at level 5 rather than creating a new character name every attempt by bashing the keyboard like you are supposed to.
The way I created Earle was even more fun. Namely I had someone else stat him for me. EDIT: correction. Someone statted him for Troika and I had them give it to me instead.
Red currently, thank you very much. ;) Just thinking about switching for this.
I never got the appeal of that Ajah. They can’t bond warders and hunting down male channelers seems like something between pointless cruelty and an exercise in futility. Are White’s allowed Warders at least?
The game is smaller than it used to be.
For years MUDs were ahead of their time. But then came WOW—something about which I am exceedingly grateful. I refused to start WOW so when Cate and the other gamer friends I had migrated from MUDs to WOW it was my ticket to the real world!
Yeah, only Reds don’t bond. Never missed it, for me it’s just zone sense at the cost of −20 SP at all times.
The appeal? Being the real PK Ajah. Have you seen what sort of people apply to Greens? ;)
But yeah, hunting MCs is an exercise in timewasting. Fortunately our role as channeler combat specialists allowed me to double as a Dreadlord-counter and get most of my QPs from north PK without feeling un-rpish about it.
Yeah, only Reds don’t bond. Never missed it, for me it’s just zone sense at the cost of −20 SP at all times.
You get regen too don’t you? Oh, and three times your normal hitpoints! Then there is the actual Warder that intercepts attacks and flattens their group while you nuke them. Those guys are awesome.
Have you seen what sort of people apply to Greens? ;)
Melyssan! Did she ever end up going dreadlord by the way?
Then there is the actual Warder that intercepts attacks and flattens their group while you nuke them. Those guys are awesome.
Haha, no. They’re really not. One, most of them have egos much bigger than their skills. Two, when they die they cost their Sedais HPs, MVs and huge lag that often means she dies too. Three, nowadays every DSer and their fleas know how to circumvent interception anyway. And four, there’s the stupid RP restriction that basically attaches you at each others’ hips… well at least that was made more sane a while ago. But still. The Warder gets pretty much all the benefits, so it’s been really funny to me to watch all those Warder-hungry unbonded Sedai switch to hunting mode whenever a new one is clanned.
I’m not saying there’s no benefit at all. But there are costs too, and I’d definitely miss the 20 SP.
Melyssan! Did she ever end up going dreadlord by the way?
Are you serious? I was a Warder in the same White Tower on that MUD. My Sedai (Cate) was a Brown—the other of the two ‘Academic’ Ajah. The Brown Ajah are a bit more worldly (and more scientific than philosophical) so our research involved near daily ‘field trips’ to investigate the Seanchan continent and rather a lot of collection of severed heads from inside Seandar itself.
This is the obvious one. I mean… come on. The vast majority of you will actually use maps on your computer. The maps you have are almost certainly not perfect—mine was close but when new zones are added or changes are made the map is going to be wrong. Following the map will make you crash into the wall, slow you down for a pulse and give the guy with the red or purple asterisks on their name the chance opportunity to hit you.
You could extent this by looking at how the map available to the character are not even the same as the territory. That is, if you don’t practice enough search you cannot open that door. If you don’t practice enough track you don’t see tracks the same way. But the territory itself is no different.
Talk about SMOBs. How much evidence the load one time is about how often the SMOB loads that item in the future. Does getting the load this time make it more or less likely that it will load next repop? (Including the few exceptions where it does make a difference.)
I think I’m using Brown Ajah thinking again in as much as all the examples springing to mind are the ones that are real world (from their perspective) applicable (it’s what I would do if I logged in as Cate and was teaching her class for her). So:
Sunk Cost—does the fact that you’ve spent the last 20 minutes chasing *Fantus* make it more worthwhile to risk it and charge into Falme after him than if you had just arrived and hadn’t invested any effort yet?
While you are at it, teach them expected utility calculations. Those things are awesome. ie. Is it better to go on a smobbing run with just the bonded pair and keep all the loot ourselves or to take others and be a somewhat safer, a little quicker but have to share the loot around? If I have a 90% chance of surviving a fight against two trollocs with enormous axes, 70% chance of killing one of them and 30% chance of killing both but I am wielding the Ancient Greatsword Justice and Jewelled Wristcuffs should I stay and fight or flee?
What is the name of the bias where humans feel like they are doing something worthwhile just because they gain lots of (largely useless, non-transferable) status, form (non-strategically useful, text only) connections with other people and acquire a steady stream of (irrelevant, text based) resources? Research that bias. This should prompt you to log in, find a weird looking stone pillar, type “embrace; channel ‘create food’” then repeat until you get the message “You feel no connection at all to the True Source.” That is the best way I know to counter the cognitive bias that makes you want to play MUD!
You’re a White. The sort of Novices that would bother going to a White’s classes for anything other than brown nosing would expect that sort of thing. It is pretty much exactly what they are supposed to be doing. If you used in game examples it’d probably stick with a couple and for those who don’t actually learn Bayes theorem they may learn the notion “hey, sometimes I can calculate probabilities for things and it helps!”—a good start.
Wait, what, you’re actually Wedrifid as in Wedrifid? I always thought it was a coincidence. We were clanmates then. Earle, before I declanned him. (Got a better-statted Warder now)
Also, great reply, thank you. But some of the stuff you suggest is OOC, and I’m talking about an IC class. Mostly I’m thinking about “playing wotmud”, can’t talk about that in-character.
Red currently, thank you very much. ;) Just thinking about switching for this. In any case, I’ll doubt I’ll have much attendance if try to make it just for White students. The game is smaller than it used to be.
The one and only—I believe literally, across the internet. I mean seriously, wedrifid? Who would use that as a name?
No doubt created with the newfandangled system whereby you can choose a name then type “restat” at level 5 rather than creating a new character name every attempt by bashing the keyboard like you are supposed to.
The way I created Earle was even more fun. Namely I had someone else stat him for me. EDIT: correction. Someone statted him for Troika and I had them give it to me instead.
Also, it’s at level 3 now. ;)
Level 3? Doesn’t that autodelete?
I’m not sure what you mean. Anything below 30 autodeletes if you wait long enough, but that’s not a problem for restatting.
I never got the appeal of that Ajah. They can’t bond warders and hunting down male channelers seems like something between pointless cruelty and an exercise in futility. Are White’s allowed Warders at least?
For years MUDs were ahead of their time. But then came WOW—something about which I am exceedingly grateful. I refused to start WOW so when Cate and the other gamer friends I had migrated from MUDs to WOW it was my ticket to the real world!
Yeah, only Reds don’t bond. Never missed it, for me it’s just zone sense at the cost of −20 SP at all times.
The appeal? Being the real PK Ajah. Have you seen what sort of people apply to Greens? ;)
But yeah, hunting MCs is an exercise in timewasting. Fortunately our role as channeler combat specialists allowed me to double as a Dreadlord-counter and get most of my QPs from north PK without feeling un-rpish about it.
You get regen too don’t you? Oh, and three times your normal hitpoints! Then there is the actual Warder that intercepts attacks and flattens their group while you nuke them. Those guys are awesome.
Melyssan! Did she ever end up going dreadlord by the way?
Yeah, it’ doesn’t make a huge difference though.
Haha, no. They’re really not. One, most of them have egos much bigger than their skills. Two, when they die they cost their Sedais HPs, MVs and huge lag that often means she dies too. Three, nowadays every DSer and their fleas know how to circumvent interception anyway. And four, there’s the stupid RP restriction that basically attaches you at each others’ hips… well at least that was made more sane a while ago. But still. The Warder gets pretty much all the benefits, so it’s been really funny to me to watch all those Warder-hungry unbonded Sedai switch to hunting mode whenever a new one is clanned.
I’m not saying there’s no benefit at all. But there are costs too, and I’d definitely miss the 20 SP.
Nope.