Friday, September 10, 2010

CombatWords September 10, 2010: Conditioned Responses

CombatWords September 10, 2010: Conditioned Responses

I was going to make Culture the theme of this combat, but culture is only one of the many means through which our reflexes are shaped. Family, trauma, love; playing it safe, playing it dangerous: all of these factors contribute to the responses that shape who we are. Genes play a role, but so does art. In the 60s, lots of speculative fiction called androids 'reflex machines.' Is that all we are? A bundle of reflexes? Is BF Skinner right in the essential, even if he was wrong with particulars?

Combat Expiration: 9/12/2010, Midnight, PST

Critique Expiration: 9/13/2010, Midnight, PST

Bonuses: +3 if posted by 6pm PST (9/10/2010), +2 if posted by 9pm PST (9/10/2010), and +1 for midnight PST (9/11/2010) posts. -1 per hour, for posts that go up after Combat Expiration: Max -2.

Yellow Cards/Red Cards: This is a game of literary combat. Have a grudge? Try OUTWRITING your nemesis. Ordinary shit talk is not allowed, except as critique. You get one shot at critique, so get all your licks in one post. I don't mind bending the rules a bit, but problem posters get one warning in the form of a yellow card. Additional, blatant violations of the rules will result in a red card. Red cards mean I will delete all that poster's identifiable posts on the thread. I will permaban anyone who is persistently disruptive. If you can't be bothered to even try to outwrite your enemies, you don't belong here.

The Rules: http://combatwords.blogspot.com/2010/07/official-rules-for-combatwords-updated.html





Subscribe in a reader