Post by Alexander Romanov on Sept 6, 2014 15:15:19 GMT -5
Chess was something that always fascinated Alexander, and yet, it also proved a source of some frustration. To Alexander, it fascinated him that the rules of chess were concrete and yet the game itself became almost abstract. Oh, certainly, it must have been possible to mathematically compute the number of possible moves one could make in a game, but even that itself was not always reliable. The element of chance and chaos always fiddled with those estimates. In Alexander's mind, there was no one true way to play the game. Certainly, there were reliable strategies but even they could not always guarantee success. Why, Alexander had seen a complete novice defeat a so-called expert at the game. It fascinated him, and what made it even more was that it was an entirely human construct.
Which was probably why he was awful at it.
Alexander was very good at observing the natural world, seeing the patterns and making predictions based on those patterns. Yet, humans added an element of chaos that he was still attempting to figure out. That was probably why the scholar found so much comfort in books, observation, fact, and science. Yes, of course, those could have elements of randomness from time to time, but for reasons he could not fully explain himself, he took greater comfort in them.
So, why was he sitting before a chessboard? The chessboard had been set up in one of the many open parlors in the castle to provide entertainment for the guests. He could have been in his study. He could have been in his laboratory. He could have even been out in the forest making a myriad of observations. So, why was he here?
Because he wanted to learn. The board had been set up neatly, and he was trying to thought the various moves and possibilities in his mind. Why? The better question was... why not?
@juliendeveraux
Which was probably why he was awful at it.
Alexander was very good at observing the natural world, seeing the patterns and making predictions based on those patterns. Yet, humans added an element of chaos that he was still attempting to figure out. That was probably why the scholar found so much comfort in books, observation, fact, and science. Yes, of course, those could have elements of randomness from time to time, but for reasons he could not fully explain himself, he took greater comfort in them.
So, why was he sitting before a chessboard? The chessboard had been set up in one of the many open parlors in the castle to provide entertainment for the guests. He could have been in his study. He could have been in his laboratory. He could have even been out in the forest making a myriad of observations. So, why was he here?
Because he wanted to learn. The board had been set up neatly, and he was trying to thought the various moves and possibilities in his mind. Why? The better question was... why not?
@juliendeveraux