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Seven Deadly Sins
In Christian tradition, the Seven Deadly Sins are
There is a nice article on the net (please replace with the link) about the application of these deadly sins on Go. However, I think the most deadly sin in Go is fear. --Dieter Tristan Jones notes that it's very weird to apply Christian thinking to a game developed in a decidedly non-Christian milieu. What next? Should we love our enemies over the Go board and turn the other cheek when they play kikashi? :-) More seriously, though, Janice Kim describes seven deadly sins in Go in one of her Learn To Play Go Series. There are bad habits and frames of mind that need to be avoided, namely greed (trying to get too much out of a situation), anger (losing one's cool when faced with an unexpected move), envy (my territory is my territory, and so is your territory), laziness (i.e., not reading things out properly), fear, carelessness and something else (I forget what). Please note, however, that the deadly sins of Go do not correspond to the seven deadly sins of theology. Like all analogies, this one shouldn't be stretched too far... Confused: Luxury isn't a sin on its own, it usually falls into Pride and Gluttony. Lechery is the last one. Interesting how that one could apply to Go: Is it the temptation, that you want to fondle your opponent's stones? Continuing the lighter vein, lechery might be like Dangling a stone above the board while thinking or Sliding stones on the board or Watch the game on the table next to yours. What next? Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Pagan theology? I fear we have started down a slippery slope. Philosophically there is the Tao Go variant. On a positive note, studying Ancient Chinese rules and philosophy or Philosophy of Go or Go and Ethics can be useful. -- Hu of KGS I thought this was an interesting concept. Maybe "invading when you are ahead" or something similar might work for envy? Obviously, invading when you are ahead might be a mistake if you only need to solidify territory to win. It's along the lines of "A rich man should not pick quarrels." You don't win by eliminating all your opponent's territory; you win by having more than he does. Alex Weldon: My sin is definitely Pride, but not as described above, as counting territory before it's solid. Rather, I'm just an overconfident jerk who is probably about 10-12k, but plays like a 20k if he's playing vs. a 20k, because, upon seeing his opponent's bad moves, doesn't feel it necessary to think very hard about his own, makes a stupid mistake, and loses the game. Actually, I have no idea what my real rank is, because of this effect. On IGS, I'm 17k*, because I tend to win games vs. 15-16k*, but have my rank dragged down by losing against 19-20k* due to lack of attention. In real life, I've been to the local Badouk club a couple times. I've won 2 out of 4 games against a guy who claims to be 5k. I don't believe him though, because there's no way I'm that good after just a few months of playing seriously. Anyway, the point is: I should have more respect for my opponents and take the time to think and play the best moves I can, and not play carelessly just because I'm 40 points ahead and every move my opponent makes seems terrible to me. Man... how many 40 points victories I've turned into 5 point losses at the last moment by failing to protect an obvious cutting point in the endgame, or even simply not seeing an atari. Learn from my mistakes. Don't be a jerk like me. ;-) This is a copy of the living page "Seven Deadly Sins" at Sensei's Library. (C) the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0. |