#sun-tzu — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #sun-tzu, aggregated by home.social.
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There are three ways a ruler can bring misfortune upon his army: Commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot; Attempting to govern an army the same way he administers a kingdom; And employing his officers through ignorance of adaptation to circumstances.
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It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move.
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If you march fifty LI in order to outmaneuver the enemy, you will lose the leader of your first division, and only half your force will reach the goal. If you march thirty LI with the same object, two thirds of your army will arrive.
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Place your army in deadly peril, and it will survive; plunge it into desperate straits, and it will come off in safety. For it is precisely when a force has fallen into harm’s way that is capable of striking a blow for victory.
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Whether the object be to crush an army, to storm a city, or to assassinate an individual, it is always necessary to begin by finding out the names of the attendants, the aides-de-camp, and door-keepers and sentries of the general in command. Our spies must be commissioned to ascertain these.
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One who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act. He sacrifices something, that the enemy may snatch at it.
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If soldiers are punished before they have grown attached to you, they will not prove submissive; and, unless submissive, then will be practically useless. If, when the soldiers have become attached to you, punishments are not enforced, they will still be useless.
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When an army feeds its horses with grain and kills its cattle for food, and when the men do not hang their cooking-pots over the camp-fires, showing that they will not return to their tents, you may know that they are determined to fight to the death.
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The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided. The preparation of mantlets, movable shelters, and various implements of war, will take up three whole months; and the piling up of mounds over against the walls will take three months more.
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At first, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you.
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At first, exhibit the coyness of a maiden, until the enemy gives you an opening; afterwards emulate the rapidity of a running hare, and it will be too late for the enemy to oppose you.
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The skillful fighter wins his battles by making no mistakes. Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is already defeated.
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You can be sure of succeeding in your attacks if you only attack places which are undefended. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.
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@mjd
#PHK has long been arguing in favour of #backdoors in encryption for nation-state to enact justice. according to #PHK, "tech bros" are enabling crime by advicating privacy.because it can sometimes look a bit icky and authoritarian to argue in favour of state-surveillance, #PHK keeps using this #SunTzu proverb to make this upside-down argument that if we advocate privacy then we'll just get even more surveillance.
he is this pretending to be a better privacy advocate while arguing for backdoored encryption:
»We could have designed our protocols to be minimally compatible with “a nation of laws,”«his belief that the law is right is statist and also naive, because states have unjust laws and often imprison people for having arbotion or being queer or opposing genocide.
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If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
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"... a fellow of those designs and tricks, that there is no degree of true friendship to be made with him, and therefore I must cast him off, ..."
"... though he be a very understanding man, and one that much may be learned of as to cunning and judging of other men."
Ah, Creed again.
Samuel had resolved to be careful with him earlier, on 10 January and more recently on 22 June. At the time, I had thought that Pepys's wish to keep contact with Creed and learn from him was on matters of business, perhaps related to ship-building, or accounts.
But now it seems that what Samuel wants to learn from Creed is precisely those things that make him suspicious of the man: "cunning and judging of other men". Interesting.
Careful, Sam. Slippery slope.
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We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country - its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.
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It is the soldier’s disposition to offer an obstinate resistance when surrounded, to fight hard when he cannot help himself, and to obey promptly when he has fallen into danger.
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Knowledge of the enemy’s dispositions cannot be elicited from spirits; it cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any deductive calculation. It can only be obtained from other men.
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Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat.
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The host forming a single united body, is it impossible either for the brave to advance alone, or for the cowardly to retreat alone. This is the art of handling large masses of men.
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When in difficult country, do not encamp. In country where high roads intersect, join hands with your allies. Do not linger in dangerously isolated positions. In hemmed-in situations, you must resort to stratagem. In desperate position, you must fight.
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If we wish to fight, the enemy can be forced to an engagement even though he be sheltered behind a high rampart and a deep ditch. All we need do is attack some other place that he will be obliged to relieve.
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Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.
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If you march fifty LI in order to outmaneuver the enemy, you will lose the leader of your first division, and only half your force will reach the goal. If you march thirty LI with the same object, two thirds of your army will arrive.
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To refrain from intercepting an enemy whose banners are in perfect order, to refrain from attacking an army drawn up in calm and confident array - this is the art of studying circumstances.
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When dust rises in a high column, it is the sign of chariots advancing; when dust is low but spread over a wide area, infantry approaches. When it branches out in different directions, parties have been sent to collect firewood. Clouds of dust moving to and fro signify that the army is encamping.
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It is only the enlightened ruler and the wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve great results. Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move.
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We cannot enter into alliance with neighboring princes until we are acquainted with their designs. We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country - its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and precipices, its marshes and swamps.
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The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points; and his forces being thus distributed in many directions, the numbers we shall have to face at any given point will be proportionately few.