# Would you listen to the time traveler and believe you will start a war? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076 "2012-03-07T22:30:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076/41 "2014-06-30T13:54:38Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > I said that chess implies one player, a chess-master, who moves the pieces. Who is the chessmaster for WWI? The leaders and generals of each country played Risk with their armies, yes - but who moved the leaders around? **Kozmik** , I suspect you misunderstood **constanze’s** point. She (?) was saying that WWI is NOT like chess and giving a reason for the dissimilarity. Chess has a chess-master, i.e., a player, moving pieces around. When she asked, “Who is the chessmaster for WWI?” the answer to the rhetorical question is, “there weren’t none.” No chessmaster at all, because unlike chess, the major pieces were all self-motivated. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076/42 "2014-06-30T14:33:13Z")
> [@Shade](#): > > …people who have done assassinated someone famous… That’s funny, I’m now picturing a version of WW1 set completely in the US South. Maybe the war starts with a Texas cowboy assassinating the Governor of Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076/43 "2014-06-30T16:36:28Z")
No, I would not. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076/44 "2014-06-30T17:18:27Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > I will regain membership the day that question is answered by a member of the SDMB. Perhaps a lurker. We will work night and day to make sure the second coming happens. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076/45 "2014-06-30T17:34:15Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > I make it a general rule never to kill anyone merely on the advice of someone else. Yeah, but what if they were wearing a cloak? Did you deliberately leave that part of the scenario out? And if you did, you made you leave that detail out? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076/46 "2014-06-30T19:12:29Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > **Kozmik** , I suspect you misunderstood **constanze’s** point. Hello, Sisyphus. Here’s your rock. Enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076/47 "2014-06-30T20:18:55Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Yeah, but what if they were wearing a cloak? Did you deliberately leave that part of the scenario out? Oh right! The cloak changes everything! My bad. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2014, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076/48 "2014-07-05T05:29:08Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > I make it a general rule never to kill anyone merely on the advice of someone else. Uh…never mind, then… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-listen-to-the-time-traveler-and-believe-you-will-start-a-war/615076.md?page=2)