←back to thread

Software Friction

(www.hillelwayne.com)
141 points saikatsg | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
WJW ◴[] No.40716351[source]
> What about event planners, nurses, military officers?

As a Dutch ex-Navy officer, we just called this "friction" as everyone had read Von Clausewitz during officer training and was familiar with the nuances of the term. Militaries overwhelmingly address this problem by increasing redundancy, so that there are as few single points of failures as possible. It is very rare to encounter a role that can only be filled by a single person, a well designed military organization will always have a plan for replacing any single individual should they accidentally die.

replies(3): >>40716751 #>>40716762 #>>40716962 #
pjc50 ◴[] No.40716962[source]
"The graveyards are full of indispensable men" -- attr. Napoleon

"I can make a brigadier general in five minutes, but it is not easy to replace a hundred and ten horses" -- attr. Lincoln (exact words vary by source)

It's noticeable how few computer wargames simulate any of this, instead allowing for frictionless high speed micromanagement.

replies(11): >>40717079 #>>40717152 #>>40717994 #>>40718104 #>>40718606 #>>40719587 #>>40720084 #>>40721062 #>>40722174 #>>40722658 #>>40734334 #
senkora ◴[] No.40718606[source]
In the novel Ender's Game, the Command School training takes an interesting approach.

Ender is able to see the full battlefield (modulo fog of war) because of ubiquitous faster-than-light sensor technology. But he doesn't control any ships directly. Instead, he issues orders to his subordinates who "directly" control squads of ships.

I've always wondered if anyone's ever made something like this. A co-op war simulation game with instant visibility but divided, frictioned actions. Nothing about it would be technically difficult. It would probably be socially difficult to find enough players.

replies(4): >>40718765 #>>40719182 #>>40721210 #>>40722661 #
1. KineticLensman ◴[] No.40719182[source]
> Instead, he issues orders to his subordinates who "directly" control squads of ships. .... I've always wondered if anyone's ever made something like this

See my other comment - lots of real military command training involves the trainees issuing orders to subordinates (role players) who interact with the simulation.

> It would probably be socially difficult to find enough players.

Military training finds them by using real soldiers as role-players (understanding how to handle an order is a useful secondary training effect) and there are also loads of ex-soldiers who will happily (for a small consultancy fee) support an exercise for a few days.