My husband and I watched an old sci-fi movie, "War Games", last night. It has a great message, and if you think about it after it's over, it examines military mentality in an interesting way. So many exercises and games played over and over, and the momentum is to carry them out to their logical conclusion. Decisions, either made by computers or humans, are fallible. Somehow the public wants to rest in the delusion that people are highly skilled and trained, computers can't make mistakes, and we don't have to think about any of it. Pretty scary.
People justify a lot of behavior by calling it "just a game". Games have adversaries, and operate on concepts like black and white. Games are not as complex as the real world, but they build themselves into the real world. Pressing buttons for detonation begins with kids' computer and video games. There is a disconnect being subtly built into the person playing the game. Winning is the object, and actions have to be taken so quickly that there is no times to figure out nuances and complexities.
It reminds me of the great book "Thinking Fast and Slow". When we think quickly we tend to make unwise choices or go with impulsive behaviors. When we cultivate slow thinking, and search for more and varied information, we tend to behave more rationally and wisely. Yet we train the military for fast thinking, and our culture does the same for the rest of us. The pause is key. And no one is cultivating that behavior at all.
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