Was driving with my grandmother and in broken English she says “no eyes… no nose… no face. Don’t trust.” To which I looked around wildly in search of this omen of ill portend.
Here's your periodic reminder that the reason Kirk (tos-flavor) got a commendation for his solution to the Kobayashi Maru is because his "cheating" was his answer. Kirk's answer to the question of, "What do you do in a no-win scenario?" is "I break the rules until it isn't a no-win scenario. I don't give up on my crew, and I do whatever I can to save as many lives as possible."
And here's your periodic reminder—or first-time FYI, depending—that according to certain apocrypha, Nog similarly "beat" the Kobayashi Maru by relentlessly demanding to barter with the enemy until the simulation crashed. Like a true Ferengi, his answer to "What would you do in a no-win scenario?" is "Renegotiate the terms of the scenario. Rule of Acquisition #98: Everyone has their price."
THIS IS WHY I HATED HOW THE KOBAYASHI MARU TEST WAS PORTRAYED IN STAR TREK 2009.
Kirk cheating on the Kobayashi Maru wasn't him thumbing the nose at the test, it was him giving his answer to the impossible scenario. And unlike Star Trek 2009, which uses it as a way to prove how cool and rebellious Kirk is, the original context for the Kobayashi Maru was so much deeper.
Spoilers for Star Trek II by the way:
We first run into the test when Saavik is taking it. She ends up getting the Enterprise captured by the Klingons. Later on, she complains to Kirk (Vulcan-style) that there was no way to win, at which point Kirk gives the official answer: the scenario is meant to be "No Win," and the point is to determine how the candidate deals with an unwinnable scenario: how to carry on in the face of death and failure.
This is Layer 1.
We run into the test a second time when Kirk is "marooned" on the Genesis asteroid. At this point, Saavik (and the audience) believes that Kirk is stranded and the Enterprise is too badly damaged to fight: a No Win Scenario. She asks Kirk how he handled the test, at which point McCoy amusedly claims that Kirk is the only one to beat the Kobayashi Maru test: Kirk changed the parameters of the test to win (he cheated). At which point he reveals his trick: the Enterprise is NOT badly damaged, he is NOT marooned, the parameters of this situation are NOT a No Win Scenario, and he smirks confidently as he tells Saavik, "I don't like to lose," and bites into an apple.
This is Layer 2.
The test gets mentioned a third time at the end of the film. The Enterprise is unable to escape the Genesis blast, due to damage to the ship's engine core. The radiation level inside Engineering is so high that no human can survive it. As Kirk watches the clock run down, he suddenly gets word that the engines are back online. "Bless you, Scotty!" Because, of course Scotty would get the engines back online! He's Captain Kirk! He doesn't lo-- where's Spock?
Spock replies to Kirk with his answer to the Kobayashi Maru: Failure can't be cheated, but it can be mitigated. Logic dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one. In the face of that logic, one's own death is not to be feared.
This is Layer 3.
Later on, while speaking to his son, Kirk admits what he's always known: he's never really taken the Kobayashi Maru test. He's always cheated or outsmarted failure and thought himself clever for it. This is his Kobayashi Maru test, where he has to carry on in the face of death and failure.
And so he does. Despite the loss he has suffered, he carries on. He reconnects with his family. Comes to terms with the loss of his friend. Acknowledges that new life comes in the wake of death. And although sorrowful, he moves on.
This is Layer 4.
And then we reach Star Trek III.
Kirk suddenly has a chance to cheat the Kobayashi Maru test again. He can outsmart the consequences of the No Win Scenario and get Spock back. After all, he's Captain Kirk, he doesn't lose. One quick trip to the Genesis Planet to retrieve Spock, and he can dodge the consequences of his failure again. . .
ok sorry to double reblog BUT I just looked him up and he does these fantastic videos where he breaks down HOW he actually mimics the other artists’ styles. Like for ed Sheeran, he explains how he brings his voice forward in the mouth, while Adam Levine sings in the back of the mouth, stuff like that. It’s SO COOL, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone actually break down how to do this sort of thing, as a skill, instead of just treating it like a neat trick they just happen to be good at.
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