Sunday, January 30, 2011

King Arthur and Opportunity Cost

One of my favorite movies is the 2004  King Arthur (Clive Owen, Keira Knightley) Not only is it told with an interesting twist on the Arthurian legend but it also contains one of my favorite movie scenes of all time.

Arther and his knights are escorting a Roman noble and his family to safety ahead of the invading Saxons. They must complete this task to earn freedom from their servitude to Rome. In his benevolence, Arthur chooses to escort the noble's vassals in the evacuation. This act of kindness slows their escape dramatically--what with oxen pulling carts, elderly and nearly crippled peasants and the only horses belonging to Arthur and his knights.

Unencumbered and hungry for a fight the Saxons march all night and at a much more war-like pace. Finally, the Saxons are nearly upon Arthur and the procession as the escape route runs smack into a frozen lake in the mountain pass. With no way around, they must cross it--slowly, because the combined weight of too many knights in one spot may crack the ice and plunge them to their deaths.

Arthur sends the noble and the remaining procession forward to Hadrian's wall whilst he and his knights stand to battle the Saxons upon the frozen lake. Outnumbered 25-1, the knights prevail with only one casualty.

But what does this have to do with opportunity cost?


Saturday, January 29, 2011

Treading Water

Cataclysm has been out about 8 weeks now. So far I have managed to join a great raiding guild, level my 3 main playing toons to 85, level my professions so I have max or near max in most categories and had great success in earning gold. So why do I feel like I'm spinning my wheels?