Is Alpha Centauri Intellectually Discriminating?

[Cybergod]

What do you think?

Just look at the blattant elitist divide between the Drones (the Low/Working Class) and the Talents (the High Class). The way the game introduces methods of supressing the Drones (whose name would be offencive if you were called one) eg. Nerve Stapling, Punishment Spheres.

And in the SMAC manual, while the Talents are described as "the cream that rises to the top of your society, your pool of highly skilled intellectuals", the Drones are "the unskilled, unsuitable and disgruntled among your people. They're lazy troublemakers, and they all carry weapons."

Does this congure an image of the feudal pyramidical society? Is this New World Order in action?

[Method]

wow. we thought you were gone. there was even a thread about it entitled "whatever happened to cybergod????"

discriminative? i don't think so, but really, i just don't pay that much attention to these things.

[BustaMike]

Ha! I answered before I read your post so I misinterpreted the poll. I answered yes because I think that SMAC is complicated to the point where stupid people can't play it well and/or don't like the game (and thus buy CIV 3 ). Was that elitist enough for everyone, lol.

[Mr. President]

I suppose you could look at it like that. I prefer to think of it as being honest about human nature.

[Xian]

I think its an extremeley INNACURATE description of human nature, but thats the point: thats how the governments of the world see us all- morons with no capability for democracy or self-management. perhaps the people who wrote it were trying to make a point. If youre a dictator, or even a indirect democracy representative, the thought of the people you control being just as intelligent as you are is terryfing. Its always been true and its still true today, masters are always secretly scared of their slaves

[Mr. President]

The general idea behind Drones and Talents is accurate, in that some people have more talent than others.

[Cybergod]

Originally posted by Xian
I think its an extremeley INNACURATE description of human nature, but thats the point: thats how the governments of the world see us all- morons with no capability for democracy or self-management. perhaps the people who wrote it were trying to make a point. If youre a dictator, or even a indirect democracy representative, the thought of the people you control being just as intelligent as you are is terryfing. Its always been true and its still true today, masters are always secretly scared of their slaves

I agree. Maybe true happiness in a society is found without leaders or masters. But we are far from that, still got a lot to learn as a species.

wow. we thought you were gone. there was even a thread about it entitled "whatever happened to cybergod????"

There was? I'm touched! I'll run the search button right no-.. soon.

[Clear Skies]

I say it is, but in some ways it's not as bad as it could be - Drones have ample potential to become Citizens, who have ample potential to become Talents. So it's not all that bad - at least the structure isn't rigid and self-perpetuating.

[Kirov]

I don't think the very distinction Talents/Workers/Drones is indiscrimating, but rather the ways of turning "unsuitable" Drones into "useful" Workers - police, stapling, spheres, etc.

And another question is what actually do Empaths in order to make Drones fit in the society - isn't it the Thought Police?

[Adalbertus]

Of course, SMAC/X is intellectually discriminating. Or better: Intelligence is discriminating, because it serves as means to distinguish (discriminare) smart from stupid people. And even worse, it discriminates intelligent from untintelligent players. But i think this is gooood!

Odi profanum vulgus et arceo.

[Clear Skies]

Originally posted by Kirov
And another question is what actually do Empaths in order to make Drones fit in the society - isn't it the Thought Police?

The way I always saw the Telepathic Matrix video, it's not so much thought control as emotional influence - the Empathi project 'good vibes', dissuading people from committing violent acts and so on. So not actually tweaking their thoughts, but making them feel nicer.

[Kirov]

Originally posted by Clear Skies


The way I always saw the Telepathic Matrix video, it's not so much thought control as emotional influence - the Empathi project 'good vibes', dissuading people from committing violent acts and so on. So not actually tweaking their thoughts, but making them feel nicer.

Yea, yea, that's the way THEY want you to see it.

[Clear Skies]

That way lies paranoia

[Kassiopeia]

Cyber's been reading 1984, he's bound to be a bit paranoid.

[Adalbertus]

I think its an extremeley INNACURATE description of human nature, but thats the point: thats how the governments of the world see us all- morons with no capability for democracy or self-management. perhaps the people who wrote it were trying to make a point. If youre a dictator, or even a indirect democracy representative, the thought of the people you control being just as intelligent as you are is terryfing. Its always been true and its still true today, masters are always secretly scared of their slaves

Honestly, I doubt most representatives of an indirect democracy even would notice that there are more intelligent than they are
But in fact, where this problem arises, are teachers. Most teachers are jealous when they have pupils who are more intelligent than they are themselves, and exploit the advantage in terms of knowledge to suppress them. Good teachers are proud of them. Especially with younger children, younger than ~10 years, I find it hilarious when an adult person (happens very often during a mass which is designed for kids) asks something where the answer they want to have is very obvious (of course, I was a kid as well) and one of the young people gives a completely unexpected, and much better, answer. The other adults in the church usually laugh. I fear the child doesn't realize that the answer was child-like and the laughter is about an adult being childish ...