I finally read a 1980 book that had been on my bookshelf probably since 1980, The Enchanted Loom by Robert Jastrow.
The "enchanted loom" is the human brain. It's a famous quote. The book was prescient. Computers are intelligent life, Jastrow argued, and they will supplant human life. Computers are emotionless but hey, if you want emotions, we can hardwire those in too.
The book disturbed me in the same way that the Oklahoma City "Thunder" organization disturbs me. The whole Lei Feng-rustless bolt thing. Brains in a vat, cool, cold, efficient, chess-like, always one step ahead, emotionless.
Those are actually the terms, or their direct implications, in two or three articles I read earlier today.
Is basketball chess? No. Basketball is emotional; chess, at least while you're playing it, is not. But you do need high intelligence to play at grand master level in both and sometimes, oftentimes, emotion gets in the way.
...the actual MVP strung together a pair of textbook performances.And that’s the key. SGA is overwhelmingly consistent. He doesn’t have many out-of-this-world performances. He is just very good, constantly, persistently, endlessly.
Winning a title is meticulous and simple. It takes dozens of solid plays and smart decisions...
...the precision Gilgeous-Alexander showed...
[machine-tool precision]
pulled out the proverbial chessboard.
In Game 3, Gilgeous-Alexander’s sophistication radiated. The kind earned from his obsession...
He used the threat of what the Spurs knew could happen if they didn’t corral him to nestle further into the headspace of his detractors.
his deconstruction of the San Antonio Spurs...was shrewd enough to overlook.
After San Antonio jumped out to a 15-0 lead, Oklahoma City walked them down slowly, like the killer in an 1980s horror film.
[A cold, emotionless, efficient killer]
Shai’s cold
SGA led his Thunder into the mental warfare...
Gilgeous-Alexander’s aggression, body control and mastery of leverage had San Antonio’s aggressive perimeter defenders off balance.
He also kept the home team out of rhythm, unable to string together slots. And his passing, as much as his pump fakes, kept the Spurs out of position.
[The play-by-play read to me as the Spurs being off balance all game but the start.]
Gilgeous-Alexander, who once said he already has the answers and just needs the questions, didn’t panic or press to find his groove. He treated the first half like reconnaissance. He cataloged tendencies and schemes, timing and emotions.
[Very computer-like]
Savvy is genius applied practically. And what makes SGA’s so effective is its precision.
Gilgeous-Alexander left Game 3 knowing every reaction was predicted and every San Antonio misstep invited. The Spurs didn’t get beaten as much as they were solved. It wasn’t dominance in the way he’s been known to impart it. But it was just as deliberate.
