Heart and Mind make the difference in fencing: a neat test by Maestro Giancarlo Toràn

[jBirch]

Glad you found it interesting and I will convey your appreciation to the author.

I don't presume to tell you what you should teach your students, but Maestro Toran will be the first to say that to influence/manipulate the opponent and the referee is neither lying nor cheating. I hope this is clear.

Hey Gladius,

Long time fan of your articles by the way. I'd love an RSS feed I could subscribe to that would let me know the instant they were published.

I think there's a linguistic nuance here. Maestro Toran is absolutely talking about lying and absolutely about NOT cheating.

The two are different. In English there's not much difference between deceit and lies: in some languages (maybe Italian is one of them?) there is an ethical and malicious emphasis put on the word "lie". Perhaps that's the difference you're seeing?

We want to lie as much as possible to our opponent and, to some extent, to the referee. We want both to accept our version of the truth and to believe it.

Obviously, neither one wants to fall for our lie.

But it's more subtle then that too.

As fencers we know that if the opponent knows that we're liers then they won't believe ANYTHING we show them. Think of the fencer who constantly feints but never actually attacks.

So, the trick is to lie just enough, and only when it really matters. The best lies (and fencing!) occurs when the opponent is confused over what the truth really is.

Great article though (especially the logic puzzles).

Hope this helps.

James.

[gladius]

Long time fan of your articles by the way. I'd love an RSS feed I could subscribe to that would let me know the instant they were published.

Thanks for the compliment. Since I pick what interests me and what I think may interest others (and I do the translation) I always post here when there is something new.

I think there's a linguistic nuance here. Maestro Toran is absolutely talking about lying and absolutely about NOT cheating.

The two are different. In English there's not much difference between deceit and lies: in some languages (maybe Italian is one of them?) there is an ethical and malicious emphasis put on the word "lie". Perhaps that's the difference you're seeing?

I beg to differ. Lying and misleading are quite different even if misleading implies lying about your own true intentions. If as a magician I misdirect your attention so that you can't see the trick I'm working on, this is not lying. Furthermore, you as a spectator expect (or should expect) that I will misdirect your attention using subtle and skillful diversions. Even in every day life lying is not acceptable but misleading--within commonly accepted rules--is.

You are correct that linguistic sensitivities change in different languages and in the current use of some words but this is not the case here, in my opinion.

For example: jealousy and envy are commonly confused in current English usage. You hear, "I'm so jealous that you won the lottery" while it should be "I'm so envious that you won the lottery" because to be envious is to wish to have what someone else has (the winning ticket) and you do not, and to be jealous is to be afraid to lose to someone else what you have (your girlfriend) and he does not. You are jealous of your girlfriend (that someone else may take her away from you) and someone else is envious of you having such a beautiful girlfriend (while his is ugly or he even doesn't have one). Two very different different emotions, but in common English parlance there is no distinction and the word "jealous" is taking over "envious."

Let me cite a famous anecdote involving Noah Webster (he of the dictionary). Good ol' Noah was not only an accomplished linguist and a devout Christian but had also an active roving eye in the pursuit of many (young) women for his enjoyment while he was married to his wife Rebecca who gave him eight kids. One day his wife caught him in flagrante delictu with one of his paramours and said to him, "Noah, I am surprised!" (this was in the early 1800s). To which Noah replied, "No dear, you are amazed, I am surprised!"

So, the trick is to lie just enough, and only when it really matters. The best lies (and fencing!) occurs when the opponent is confused over what the truth really is.

If you replace "lie" with misdirect/deceive and "the truth..." with what my true intentions are, this is really the essence of what Toran says.

Great article though (especially the logic puzzles).

I agree and found the puzzles very illuminating. Here you manipulate (you can't say that you lie) your two groups by simply submitting two tests, one easy and one difficult in different order (easy first, hard second to group one, and hard first and easy second to group two) and you manipulate the outcome...