assume or not to assume?

[Scythe13]

(17 September 2013, 10:28)bigpaul Wrote: the point of scouts is, the should not be that far ahead, the need to be close enough to run back and warn the main party of trouble ahead.

You're kind of missing the point mate.

You're right, a group should travel the speed of their slowest members, etc. But what if there is a second group? A forward moving group, or something like that.

Having assumptions that those things are not there could very easily lead to being unprepared for the possibility, which is entirely what P1's initial post was on about.

Yes a group should be slow. They should be hungry, they should be tired, they should be unmotivated. But what if they get a second wind, a moment of hope, a moment of motivation. It does not take a lot of incentive to make a starving person ready to kill with all their effort. They'll have adrenalin pumping heavy, and that makes them even more dangerous than a well fed motivated person.

Saying this wont happen, or that won't happen, and making assumptions about the weakness of everyone else, is a huge danger. Underestimating and pigeonholing people is going to lead a person into a god-complex, and that can easily see them dead!

Take my wife for example. She's physically fit, strong, good looking, and such a kind caring person. You wouldn't expect her to be able to punch with the best of them hu? She's got one hell of a punch, and I'm working with her to make that even harder. Give her a shotgun or air-rifle or normal rifle, and I'd put money that she can shoot better than well over 90% of people. I know this because I've seen it. She is one of the last people I would be pleased to be hunted by! I've seen her run half marathons running fully blistered after half way, and still coming in with a phenomenally competitive time. I'm not doing this to big up my wife. I'm saying that underestimating a person and people in general, is a real danger for a person to do.

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And even if the point of scouts is to warn the main group, what if the scouts don't realise that they are meant to warn the main group, opting instead to go in, guns blazing, and come back to the group with resources like food and water? A group might be meant to act a certain way, but there's no telling how they'll act/react/respond, and thus is the beauty of people.