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Gunnar_Zarncke comments on Summary and Lessons from "On Combat" - Less Wrong Discussion

17 Post author: Gunnar_Zarncke 22 March 2015 01:48AM

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Comment author: Gunnar_Zarncke 25 March 2015 08:44:35PM 0 points [-]

I (or for that matter Grossman) don't mean fine motor skills. I mean higher abstractions like scan environment, search next target, shoot, move on, stop on game-over.

Comment author: Lumifer 25 March 2015 08:55:45PM 1 point [-]

"Stop on game-over" as a behavioral pattern is, I think, pure fiction. Note that it's different from "stop on command" which is trained in a lot of situations.

So, let's take, say, wildlife photography. It teaches one to "scan environment, search next target, shoot, move on". OMG, wildlife photography trains killers!

In the more general sense, the loop "scan -- locate -- act" is very common -- look e.g. at a football match or a traffic cop or a driver fighting through traffic or... etc. etc. It's by no means unique to FPSes.

Comment author: Gunnar_Zarncke 25 March 2015 11:46:45PM *  -1 points [-]

Sorry. I have the impression that you are intentionally misunderstanding me. I just can't read that as genuine desire to understand what I (or Grossman) mean but as to use your own metaphor soldier arguments.

For example "stop on game" over was admittedly simplistic but you could have read it as including "stop on command" which is the actual case mentioned by Grossman. He doesn't claim that "game over" stops the children but actual commands (probably by caregivers) did in attempted violence cases.

Comment author: Lumifer 26 March 2015 02:23:13PM 2 points [-]

I am not trying to misunderstand you. But try stepping away from Grossman's claims and looking at it from your own eyes.

but you could have read it as including "stop on command" which is the actual case mentioned by Grossman.

This is nonsense on stilts. "Stop on command" is one of the first behavioral patterns taught to small children as soon as they are able to understand and respond (and for good reasons, too). This is reinforced in daily life, in school, etc. Making someone stop on command has nothing at all to do with computer games.