The 48th Law of Power
Assume Formlessness
Every other individual would want to protect themselves and at the same time achieve what they desire. In order to do these they formulate ways that they think would be able to help them achieve their maximum capabilities. Probably some of the ways they think of to be able to achieve their maximum capabilities are to plan their life, protect themselves from pain, and focus on their expertise. They study hard at what they think would profit them best, and try to be exceptional in their chosen fields. With these ways they believe that they could fulfill their desires. What they do not know is that these ways would, in the long run, be their short-comings. An example given on the book are the Spartans, who focused on creating a society dedicated to the art of war, they devoid them of pleasure and removed their system of money believing that it would ruin their discipline; they learned nothing but survival and warfare. With that they did not know how to handle money and luxury, as their territory progressed and expanded they needed to cope with the changes as they win and conquer which they were not able to accomplish, and resulted to their downfall.
The objective of this law is to make someone be unpredictable, and difficult to understand by the enemies. It will enable them to be in the lead without the enemies actually knowing that they are being defeated, but later on realize that they are losing which would most probably create fear and lower their morale. This way the enemies would find it difficult to know what you think as well as your moves while you can completely predict what they think and how they move. This law also gives importance to a person’s ability to adapt to the changes and uncertainty, wherein they would not falter and get confused when the time comes that they encounter great changes.
If one creates this shell or supposedly protection, one does not become open to the world and the changes accompanying it. With that it will become difficult for that person to adapt to the changes and being rigid and unable to move on; making that person predictable and open to the attack of an enemy. So if you would want to be powerful and great, you must not submit to a specific plan or tactic, you must be capable of changing these plans depending on what happened and what changed throughout the whole situation, and one could be assured of the great chance of victory.
Alysa Marie D. Alberto
Hi18-L
33 comments:
by always being on constant alert, you are never vulnerable to being surprised by changes or attacks. Never betting on stability or lasting order will prepare you in many ways, and will need you to subscribe to many of the laws/advice in the book such as do not isolate yourself, keep an air of unpredictability, in victory learn when to stop, etc etc.
monica ang L
just like in the game of poker and killers, one must be as unpredictable as he can be. Enemies should not notice the patterns of emotions every move he make. once they grasp one's "pattern", they would be able to take advantage of it by controlling your future. Dont let them read you, and if you can do this, you'll be in control.
Mikail Lambino Hi18 - L
i have to agree with this law -- the only constant is change and the more able we are to adapt to change then the more difficult it will be to pin down our weaknesses. another dangerous example that illustrates this law is evolution: man is the most dangerous animal because we are able to utilize the resources we are given and we are able to manipulate them to become beneficial to our needs. instead of succumbing to the environment, we change the environment to suit us.
however, doesn't this law remind anyone else of the Jack of all traits, master of none? if we keep adapting, etc, then we do not necessarily become adept at anything in particular. we keep changing that we don't have enough time to master one particular skill.
it's a matter of time and how quickly the environment changes. i think it's better, overall, to be the catalyst for the change in environment / situation rather than merely adapting to it.
kyra ballesteros hi18 K
i totally agree with this law. it is really important to be unpredictable and chameleon-like because in that way, other people do not have full mastery of your tactics and you can adapt to change more easily. if my interpretation is correct, this law is contrary to what law 23 states, where one should concentrate his or her own forces. you mentioned something about the spartans and that they had shortcomings that contributed to their downfall. i agree because is is important to excel in many things. if one things does not go as planned, at least you have a back-up. also, law 48 is closely connected to law 17 which gives emphasis on unpredictability. if you are unpredictable, other people will not know what to expect from you. in effect, they cannot make the necessary preparations. they will be left in a state of confusion. being unpredictable and hard to read allows you to be in charge of the situation. also, being good in a lot of things.
-Philip Albert T. Verde
Hi18 K
i agree with kyra when she says it's like jack of all trades and master of none. but i disagree w her when she makes it sound like a bad thing. the mastery there is not in what you're doing. it's more of a mastery of adapting. deceiving. and though it's difficult to master, i think that once you have, it would be an extremely essential skill.
ocampo 18-k
Life is not always like a chess game... You cant always think two steps ahead. People are prone to changes whether positivily or negativliy. No one could avoid this because it happens everyday. Adaptation is the key to progress and success. Being alert and open to change could help build you as a person.
Richard Hahn
L
Life is not always like a chess game... You cant always think two steps ahead. People are prone to changes whether positivily or negativliy. No one could avoid this because it happens everyday. Adaptation is the key to progress and success. Being alert and open to change could help build you as a person.
Richard Hahn
L
By being unpredictable, you ultimately gain an advantage of keeping everyone sort of unapprised of your plans (that is, if you even have one). No one would be able to read you, more so plot anything against you since they wouldn't exactly know what you're up to.
Monica Copuyoc
Hi18- L
one characteristic that successful people has: Adaptability. i think that a person who has this quality cam achieve many things. By being adaptable, you become unpredictable. if don't learn how to bend, eventually, you will break.
Kriska Rivadillo
Hi18 K
By being "formless", you keep your opponents from knowing you too well, thus giving you great defense. The unpredictability of formlessness makes an opponent virtually blind when he or she tries to attack or go against you.
What I disagree with is that permanence is almost completely given a negative connotation. Remember that Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for about 3000 years. Ancient Egyptians valued permanence and stability more than anything else. Their art and culture reflected how they disliked change. This worked to their advantage--in fact, I think their love for stability and permanence contributed significantly to the success of the civilization.
Yes, being formless can help trick your opponents, but doing away with permanence and shunning order can also cause failure. As always, there must be a good balance between the fleeting and the permanent.
Chio Cebrero
Hi 18
Oops, I'm from section L :)
A good way to delay the moves of your opponent is to always keep them thinking what you're up to. For them to always revise their plans, because you keep changing and moving. Use your unpredictability to your advantage.
If you want to gain power, you must learn to adapt to different situations. Everyday, different events happen and you can't just use one tactic for ever situation. If you do, you'll get stuck and would end up failing -- you must keep up with the changing tactics and strategies (especially of your opponents).
Gliza Marasigan
Hi18-L
I like to bring in this conversation from Enter The Dragon :P
Teacher: I see your talents have gone beyond the mere physical level. Your skills are now at the point of spiritual insight. I have several questions. What is the highest technique you hope to achieve ?
Lee: To have no technique.
Teacher: Very good. What are your thoughts when facing an opponent ?
Lee: There is no opponent.
Teacher: And why is that ?
Lee: Because the word "I" does not exist.
Teacher: So, continue...
Lee: A good fight should be like a small play, but played seriously. A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come. When the opponent expands, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And when there is an opportunity, I do not hit. It hits all by itself.
Okay sometimes I get lost in Bruce Lee's "because the word 'I' does not exist" talk. What the hell is that supposed to mean lol. Anyway, formlessness makes one unpredictable and that's an advantage especially against political foes.
Denis Flores
Hi 18k
Achieving formlessness is a great defensive strategy. Because by being formless, you become unpredictable to your enemy, not knowing what you will do next or how you will attack, they will grow confused, which may cause their chosen strategy to fail. However, you must also consider the fact that since you have become unpredictable, your enemies will always be on their toes, allowing them to prepare for the worst case scenario, and come up with a strategy strong enough to trump yours.
Elise Noelle Anne Lim
Hi18 Section L
A counter to law 19 Know Who Your Dealing With. Yes, being unpredictable is a very strong weapon. Humans are innately afraid of the unknown(example: Death) so being unknown and mysterious would create a veil of fear. A very defensive law but a very useful nonetheless.
Perhaps the intro was a tad bit too long, you could have used some more words on examples.
the best way to not lose a fight is to keep yourself out of it. visualize the process of osmosis. a solution which has small solid particles dispersed in liquid passes through a semi permeable membrane. while the solid particles are forced against with the solid membrane, the liquid passes right through. if this were a warzone, or a race to some great treasure being protected by fierce warrior guards, a good way to get through would be to distract a guard (membrane) with a decoy (solid particles) while you (liquid) go right through.
the problem with the spartans was that they defined themselves to solidly and, as alysa said, could not change to adapt.
ways to interpret this law:
1. be invisible = if the enemy doesn't know you're there, he won't fight you. ex. Hitch (as in Will Smith). The success of his business depended on how secret it was kept. if women knew there was a hitch, their guards would have been up and his plans would never have worked.
b. be flexible = learn to slip through the cracks, play dirty, exploit weaknesses. eg. Batman beyond (Terri McGinnis). the joker is raised from the dead and finds that his old nemesis bruce wayne has been replaced by a newer model. of course, he knew all of batman's old tricks. in the determining battle, joker tells terry that batman doesn't play dirty. terry says: "But i do." while bruce wayne always fought head on without really talking, terry used joker's weakness. this might be confusing, but i'm gonna try to explain. joker laughed at batman. constantly. this was his strength, it pissed batman off and the sort of helped the punches roll off jokey. joker built a shell of laughter around himself. what terry did was laugh at him. joker found that batman was no longer just his counterpart, but someone a lot like himself. someone who know how to fight dirty. this is getting long. he lost. that's it. hope you guys got the point. i lost myself, unfortunately.
3. never be an entity- don't exist and no one will treat you like an enemy. work from behind the shadows. get other people to do your dirty work for you. keep your hands clean. look innocent. don't get involved. directly.
this is a good closing law, dramatic and multi-layered and everything. a lot of the others fall under it.
Du, L
This law is right in the sense that it requires dynamism for survival--the ability to change within your circumstances and use your progressive resources to your own advantage, like what the Spartans must have failed to do. A state should be fluid, and not just accepting of change, but controlling of it.
Peep Warren
Hi18-L
A counter to law 19 Know Who Your Dealing With. Yes, being unpredictable is a very strong weapon. Humans are innately afraid of the unknown(example: Death) so being unknown and mysterious would create a veil of fear. A very defensive law but a very useful nonetheless.
Perhaps the intro was a tad bit too long, you could have used some more words on examples.
PS: Sorry, forgot name on last post
-Jan Leyson
Hi18 K
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