When dealing with an enemy, Sun Tzu said:
“You must know yourself. You must know the opponent. And you must know the territory in which you encounter the opponent.”

Sun Tzu wrote about the art of war thousands of years ago. What he has said has been studied carefully and used thoroughly by the KGB, by the CIA, and countless others. Required reading. Required study. A matter, quite literally, of life and death.

The work of SunTzu was used effectively by Mao Tze Tung to conquer China, and making it a communist country. It is supremely effective. It has even been studied by Fortune 500 Companies in their struggle for economic supremacy.

If you do not know your own strengths and weakness, you will be surprised to learn this. Perhaps fatally surprised. That would be unfortunate. However, knowing the opponent can be difficult if alien.

Knowing the territory can be difficult if alien.

Ah, but knowing oneself, that is the art. Since and before Sophocles, “know thyself” has been the best of advice.

Are you prone to violence, to panic, to quick judgements. Then you are dangerous to yourself and others.

In knowing oneself, one can create the power to prevail against the most powerful opponents or difficulties.

And in our encounter with aliens, we will need some power. We will be up against the unknown.

Possibly beneficial and possibly lethal. Let us survive and thrive. In dealing with the unknown, with what is alien, let us at least know ourselves.

What do you think?