Here is a (very paraphrased, non-spoiler) snippet from the beginning of “Margin of Profit” by Poul Anderson. The problem is that the evil space aliens are blockading a trade route, capturing the ships and crew of the trading ships. The Traders are meeting and deciding what to do.
Trader 1: Why don’t we just send in our space fleet and destroy them?
Trader 2: Revenge and violence are un-Christian thoughts. Also, they don’t pay very well, as it is hard to sell anything to a corpse. Anyway, getting that done would take a long time, and our customers would find other sources for the goods they need.
Trader 1: Why don’t we just arm our merchant ships?
Trader 2: You think I haven’t thought of that? We are already on shoestring margins as it is. If we make the ships more expensive, then we are operating at a loss.
(Wow, I write so much worse than Poul Anderson :-) The writing in the story is much better. The “un-Christian thoughts” line is one of my favorites).
This was one of the scenes that showed how to think logically throught the consequences of seemingly good ideas (here, economic decision-making, long-term thinking). You can actually figure out the solution to the problem using one of the techniques that I’ve heard on OB (I don’t want to spoil it by saying which one).
Good idea—I actually didn’t think of them until I read this, but many of Anderson’s Nicholas van Rijn and David Falkayn short stories would be good choices.
Here is a (very paraphrased, non-spoiler) snippet from the beginning of “Margin of Profit” by Poul Anderson. The problem is that the evil space aliens are blockading a trade route, capturing the ships and crew of the trading ships. The Traders are meeting and deciding what to do.
Trader 1: Why don’t we just send in our space fleet and destroy them?
Trader 2: Revenge and violence are un-Christian thoughts. Also, they don’t pay very well, as it is hard to sell anything to a corpse. Anyway, getting that done would take a long time, and our customers would find other sources for the goods they need.
Trader 1: Why don’t we just arm our merchant ships?
Trader 2: You think I haven’t thought of that? We are already on shoestring margins as it is. If we make the ships more expensive, then we are operating at a loss.
(Wow, I write so much worse than Poul Anderson :-) The writing in the story is much better. The “un-Christian thoughts” line is one of my favorites).
This was one of the scenes that showed how to think logically throught the consequences of seemingly good ideas (here, economic decision-making, long-term thinking). You can actually figure out the solution to the problem using one of the techniques that I’ve heard on OB (I don’t want to spoil it by saying which one).
Does this apply?
Good idea—I actually didn’t think of them until I read this, but many of Anderson’s Nicholas van Rijn and David Falkayn short stories would be good choices.