After a few short introductory scenes on the frigate HMS Surprise in the film "Master and Commander," we cut to a sudden bow cannon shot by a French frigate that plows through the Surprise's bowsprit and causes havoc along the deck. The response is soon the cry, "Beat to Quarters." It is a well-rehearsed scenario that sends every man on board, by the rules of the British Navy, to their post This sequence is a good example of the principle of challenge and its response. An action triggers a complex response. Several historians (Toyn-bee for instance) have ingrained challenge and response into the fundamental methodology of the development and demise of civilizations.
展开▼
