Addicted to Finding Causes


“Any explanation is better than none.”
-         Nietzsche

We love to cite reasons for everything that happens. If the reason is correct, all the better; but that’s not a must. Obviously, nobody says that to themselves, but if you check out many of the “reasons” floating around, you’d see what I mean.

It turns out that we don’t just stop at attributing causes to real life events. People even try and find root causes for battles from movies, like the Battle of Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back! So what were the reasons Darth Vader and Co couldn’t crush and kill the rebels in that battle?
“Don’t place unaccountable religious fanatics in wartime command, and never underestimate a hegemonic power’s ability to miscalculate against an insurgency.”
Well ok, those reasons would apply even today in the real world; so maybe this analysis wasn’t a total waste of time after all!

A comment on Slashdot to the above analysis said:
“…people can armchair quarterback real historical battles, let alone fictional ones in a setting where magic exists.”
Magic? Hmmm…I guess that means the next battle to analyze would be Harry Potter vs Lord Voldemort, right?

I would definitely read that analysis!

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