Poll: What is power?
- Thread starter Lord Garnaat
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It's a mixture of things..
Knowledge; gives you the basis for rational - intelligent decisions. A solid acumen for your actions.
Strength; respect for appropriate action.
People; the police need to want to follow you.
Wisdom; a philosopher king. Reason, logic, creativity, tolerance, etc etc.
That gives power.
Knowledge; gives you the basis for rational - intelligent decisions. A solid acumen for your actions.
Strength; respect for appropriate action.
People; the police need to want to follow you.
Wisdom; a philosopher king. Reason, logic, creativity, tolerance, etc etc.
That gives power.
For those of you who are familiar with the super hero/comics realm, it's apparent that the absolute source of power is knowledge. Keeping with the super hero/comics analogy, genius-level intellect has always caused beings with no super powers to achieve truly remarkable things that even the most power beings simply could not with might alone.
Knowledge will allow you to make smart investments, i.e. keep you rich; people will marvel over your intellectual accomplishments and be confident in being lead by you; it will allow you to learn from other fields, such as martial arts and chemistry, allowing yourself to become a more dangerous and powerful individual capable of handling themselves.
So clearly, knowledge gets the work done. Clearly not the easiest aspect to obtain in order to achieve dominance over others (unless you were a genius, of course), but nonetheless a critical one that will allow you to do anything.
Knowledge will allow you to make smart investments, i.e. keep you rich; people will marvel over your intellectual accomplishments and be confident in being lead by you; it will allow you to learn from other fields, such as martial arts and chemistry, allowing yourself to become a more dangerous and powerful individual capable of handling themselves.
So clearly, knowledge gets the work done. Clearly not the easiest aspect to obtain in order to achieve dominance over others (unless you were a genius, of course), but nonetheless a critical one that will allow you to do anything.
Power is...well, I say it's having opportunities to do what you want without someone else imposing arbitrary restrictions of you with the sole purpose of keeping you down.
Power is the ability to say "Fuck you, I'm not going to 'know my place', I'm going to find a new place! With blackjack! And hookers!"
And remember, with great power, comes great insanity. Wibble.
Power is the ability to say "Fuck you, I'm not going to 'know my place', I'm going to find a new place! With blackjack! And hookers!"
And remember, with great power, comes great insanity. Wibble.
I think Frank Herbert said in Dune that power is the ability to destroy something.
But I like Varys's definition better. Power is the ability to convince other people that you hold power.
Knowledge, money, social status, strength. all of these can contribute to maintaining that illusion. But none guarantee that others will recognise you as a powerful person, and none will allow you to compel others to your will unless they consent to your power.
But I like Varys's definition better. Power is the ability to convince other people that you hold power.
Knowledge, money, social status, strength. all of these can contribute to maintaining that illusion. But none guarantee that others will recognise you as a powerful person, and none will allow you to compel others to your will unless they consent to your power.
Power?
Power is a loud voice, an impressive vocabulary, and a gullible crowd.
People don't have power. They're just a resource. A person is smart. A crowd is stupid.
Power is a loud voice, an impressive vocabulary, and a gullible crowd.
People don't have power. They're just a resource. A person is smart. A crowd is stupid.
Wesker. Wesker is power. let's ask Chris Redfield. Hey, Chris, what is power?Daystar Clarion said:
I actually use both Wesker and Dormamu in my team. I beat everybody I know who plays it, but that's only 3 people, and if I go online, I die. I'm not very good...Daystar Clarion said:
I dunno, lets' ask someone with unlimited power:
Fascination, apparently it's the ability to throw guys out windows.
Anywho, power is the ability to influence the actions of others. You may gain this through various means but the end result is the same, it make people do what you want and give you control. At least in a social context, power means something completely different at your local power plant.
Fascination, apparently it's the ability to throw guys out windows.
Anywho, power is the ability to influence the actions of others. You may gain this through various means but the end result is the same, it make people do what you want and give you control. At least in a social context, power means something completely different at your local power plant.
Power, real power, comes down control.
Wealth, influence, knowledge, strength? In the end, all they allow you to do is to assert your will and have it be done. These all you control others to various extents, but at the same time they make you more subject to your own whims.
Because you can control others, it does not mean you can control yourself.
As the video in the spoiler above states, power is when you have the self-control needed to do not do something (killing a guilty criminal, for example) despite having every reason to do so. Without the ability to control yourself, what happens? Wealth is squandered, influence and trust is lost due to your actions, knowledge is misused, and strength is used for nothing more than oppression. A classic phrase which lend credence to this are "noblesse oblige", or "nobility obliges"; or the more modern variation, "with great power comes great responsibility".
You see, the ability to control one's self is what gets you real power - people will come to trust you, because they know you will do what is right instead of succumbing to your baser instincts. Where a lesser man will take his revenge, a greater man will grant his defeated foe mercy; it is then up to the one granted this mercy to use it wisely or waste it, as the merciful could easily be ready to give the fool his due for not taking the chance he should have. But yes, it is that trust which people bestow upon someone which gives them real power; wealth is freely given for one to serve the people under their charge better, they are given privy to knowledge as to use better, and one's influence holds far stronger than one created by fear or incentive because people will not abandon them simply because it's no longer in their best interests to change allegiances.
As they say, to err is human. To have power is to be more than that, to not fall prey to flaws which make us human when we have every reason to do so. People see that quality in a person, and in turn they grant that person their trust and respect.
That, my good fellows, is the true meaning of power.
Wealth, influence, knowledge, strength? In the end, all they allow you to do is to assert your will and have it be done. These all you control others to various extents, but at the same time they make you more subject to your own whims.
Because you can control others, it does not mean you can control yourself.
Schindler's List[/youtube]
As the video in the spoiler above states, power is when you have the self-control needed to do not do something (killing a guilty criminal, for example) despite having every reason to do so. Without the ability to control yourself, what happens? Wealth is squandered, influence and trust is lost due to your actions, knowledge is misused, and strength is used for nothing more than oppression. A classic phrase which lend credence to this are "noblesse oblige", or "nobility obliges"; or the more modern variation, "with great power comes great responsibility".
You see, the ability to control one's self is what gets you real power - people will come to trust you, because they know you will do what is right instead of succumbing to your baser instincts. Where a lesser man will take his revenge, a greater man will grant his defeated foe mercy; it is then up to the one granted this mercy to use it wisely or waste it, as the merciful could easily be ready to give the fool his due for not taking the chance he should have. But yes, it is that trust which people bestow upon someone which gives them real power; wealth is freely given for one to serve the people under their charge better, they are given privy to knowledge as to use better, and one's influence holds far stronger than one created by fear or incentive because people will not abandon them simply because it's no longer in their best interests to change allegiances.
As they say, to err is human. To have power is to be more than that, to not fall prey to flaws which make us human when we have every reason to do so. People see that quality in a person, and in turn they grant that person their trust and respect.
That, my good fellows, is the true meaning of power.
Nice "Order of the Stick" reference.
OT: At its heart, power is the ability to make reality reflect your will. It can therefore take many different forms. It can be money, if what you want can be bought. It can be knowledge if what you want is a solution to a complicated problem. Power can even take the form of chickens if what you desire most is to annoy your brother with an obnoxious clucking sound.
If I had to pick something besides "other," it would be people, since people create all the other things mentioned in the poll.
OT: At its heart, power is the ability to make reality reflect your will. It can therefore take many different forms. It can be money, if what you want can be bought. It can be knowledge if what you want is a solution to a complicated problem. Power can even take the form of chickens if what you desire most is to annoy your brother with an obnoxious clucking sound.
If I had to pick something besides "other," it would be people, since people create all the other things mentioned in the poll.
