This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Working Title: Future Chess: From YKTTW
Clever Pun: I removed the Naruto example because it is not an example- not only is shogi in the Real Life examples already, but Naruto most assuredly did not invent the game, and thus adds nothing to the page but Entry Pimpage. Sorry for the mini rant but thems the breaks gang.
Clever Pun: Removed the following (LONG) bit of Natter- I was letting it slide, but it is now just about longer than the entire page, and that's where the problem shows up:
- (Bizarrely, an episode of TNG had Troi beat Data (DATA!) at normal chess.)
- Well, Deep Blue didn't beat Kasparov all the time...
- Kasparov was not a ditz in a bunny suit.
- In his Nitpicker's Guide Phil Farrand immediately cried foul to Troi's victory. Data is a zillion times smarter than any chess computer we have today. He can and will brute-force the probabilities of every possible move. Troi attempts to claim that intuition (a quality Data supposedly lacks) is a key factor in chess. Yeah, right.
- She was probably nipping into the lavatory with a copy of Fritz 11624.
- Or maybe she just had him set to "Easy"...
- They aren't playing normal chess. There are some games where computers are way better than humans, some where they're about even, and some where humans are way better than computers. Presumably 3D chess is of the third variety. Of course, given that Data has strong AI, he should have intuition on par with a normal person, along with theinability to make stupid mistakes.
- Oh? You base this assumption on your vast experience with humanlike androids, I assume?
- Normal humans have intuition 'on par with a normal person', and make stupid mistakes all the time.
- Data has a lot of Plot Hole moments like this. The same android can not use contractions (Can not = can't is too hard to grasp?!), and could not understand the concept of "bluffing" in poker despite ostensibly having poker strategy books stored in his brain. The idea that such a machine would need "intuition" to do such things has Bellisario's Maxim written all over it.
- Again, since we don't actually know how his brain works, we can't make assumptions about what he "should" or "shouldn't" be able to do.
- We know that Data's creator programmed in a mental block against using contractions (except when playing a part) and an utter cluelessness about emotions, in order to set him apart from humans (and his creepy brother). You might argue that he gave Data an auto-adjusting difficulty level at board games to make him that much less threatening... but it's far likelier the writer actually believed that chess requires intuition.
- Since 3D chess has a finite number of discrete states and from each state there's a finite number of legal steps to make, all outcomes can be calculated. The only thing that can't be calculated precisely is the probability of the other player noticing an opportunity to make a move so he or she wins. This is where luck or intuition means a little advantage. Since Data calculates the probability of every step, Troi could assume that he'll make the step with the greatest probability of victory. Therefore she couldn't hope of hiding such a step. On the other hand, Data is predictable in that he will make the step with 99% probability of victory if there isn't a step with a greater, even if the other player's 1% chance is a fairly obvious step. Of course he can learn, for example if he observes that Worf likes to use the rook, but rarely touches the bishop, he'll chose a step after which he has 80% probability of winning, but Worf had to move a bishop to win over a step after which he has 90% probability of winning, but Worf could gain the upper hand with a move with the rook. However, it's not exact science. So the logical explanations for Troi's victory are a) Troi has a very unpredictable style, so Data can't figure out which opportunities she will miss, and which ones she'll notice easily, b) Data and Troi didn't have a sufficient amount of matches for Data to figure out her style, c) Troi got lucky and noticed the opportunity Data tried to hide. But Troi can definitely defeat Data, even if Data wins most of the time.
