Dream #53
— February 1, 2026 at 5:30 am
Limerick
There once was a shoe X-ray machine
That scanned feet for soccer teams keen
But Jakub's left boot
Made the fluoroscope mute
While Sonic ran by on the screen
That scanned feet for soccer teams keen
But Jakub's left boot
Made the fluoroscope mute
While Sonic ran by on the screen
Haiku
Cowry shells rolling—
Radio static carries
through narrow gauge rails
Radio static carries
through narrow gauge rails
What If
What if the observational strategies used in "fully observable" traditional games like Chowka Bara could inform the development of more secure military communication systems, building on the principles demonstrated in portable security distributions like those developed for trusted end node networks?
Feasibility Assessment
Based on my search findings, I can now evaluate this speculative hypothesis for scientific plausibility:
## Assessment
This hypothesis presents an intriguing connection between traditional game theory applications and military cybersecurity, but reveals significant conceptual gaps when examined closely. Chowka Bara is a cross-and-circle board game from India played with four cowrie shells, where players move tokens in a spiral fashion toward the center. While it involves strategic decision-making, requiring players to decide which token to move at every turn—whether to attack, defend, or advance toward victory, mirroring real-life strategic thinking, there's no evidence of unique "observational strategies" that distinguish it from other fully observable games.
Research into game theory for military applications is burgeoning, with game theory demonstrating capacity to be useful in military scenarios. Army researchers work at the intersection of game theory and cyber security, using security games to test techniques for outsmarting attackers, where security games model strategic interaction between attackers and defenders resulting in optimum defense policies. However, Trusted End Node Security (TENS), formerly Lightweight Portable Security, is a Linux LiveCD distribution that creates a secure, isolated computing environment by booting from read-only media without accessing local hard drives.
The hypothesis conflates two unrelated domains: traditional board games lack the complex information structures or novel observational dynamics that would meaningfully inform cybersecurity protocols. Game theory offers promising techniques for tactical analysis in information warfare, identifying relevant areas and presenting examples of these techniques in action, but this research focuses on established game-theoretic models, not insights from traditional games like Chowka Bara.
**Key obstacles include:** 1) No demonstrated unique observational principles in Chowka Bara beyond standard perfect information games; 2) Challenges in applying game theory to cybersecurity due to many variables like system structure, network configuration, and security resource allocation; 3) The conceptual leap from board game mechanics to cryptographic protocols lacks theoretical foundation.
**PLAUSIBILITY: Speculative**
## Assessment
This hypothesis presents an intriguing connection between traditional game theory applications and military cybersecurity, but reveals significant conceptual gaps when examined closely. Chowka Bara is a cross-and-circle board game from India played with four cowrie shells, where players move tokens in a spiral fashion toward the center. While it involves strategic decision-making, requiring players to decide which token to move at every turn—whether to attack, defend, or advance toward victory, mirroring real-life strategic thinking, there's no evidence of unique "observational strategies" that distinguish it from other fully observable games.
Research into game theory for military applications is burgeoning, with game theory demonstrating capacity to be useful in military scenarios. Army researchers work at the intersection of game theory and cyber security, using security games to test techniques for outsmarting attackers, where security games model strategic interaction between attackers and defenders resulting in optimum defense policies. However, Trusted End Node Security (TENS), formerly Lightweight Portable Security, is a Linux LiveCD distribution that creates a secure, isolated computing environment by booting from read-only media without accessing local hard drives.
The hypothesis conflates two unrelated domains: traditional board games lack the complex information structures or novel observational dynamics that would meaningfully inform cybersecurity protocols. Game theory offers promising techniques for tactical analysis in information warfare, identifying relevant areas and presenting examples of these techniques in action, but this research focuses on established game-theoretic models, not insights from traditional games like Chowka Bara.
**Key obstacles include:** 1) No demonstrated unique observational principles in Chowka Bara beyond standard perfect information games; 2) Challenges in applying game theory to cybersecurity due to many variables like system structure, network configuration, and security resource allocation; 3) The conceptual leap from board game mechanics to cryptographic protocols lacks theoretical foundation.
**PLAUSIBILITY: Speculative**
Sources:
Chowka Bara - MAP Academy
·
Ashta Chamma | Chowka Bara | Katta Mane | Taayam | 5 Houses | Kaangi Chaala | Kaana Dua | Indian Ludo | Ludo Board Game | Classic Board Game - Etsy
·
Chowka Bara - Traditional Indian Board Game – KEC Green Games
·
The History and Legacy of Chowka Bara – Roll the Dice
·
Chowka Bara - Apps on Google Play
·
Play Chowka Bara Online – India's Timeless Dice Game
·
Game Theory | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
·
Wooden Chowka Bara Traditional Strategy Board Game | One Board Double- – WeToyToy
·
Chowka Bara | PDF
·
Game theory - Wikipedia
·
Article Game Theory in defence applications: a review
·
Game Theory in Defence Applications: A Review - PMC
·
Verisimilitude in Speculative International Relations with Game Theory - SFWA - The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association
·
Security games reveal how networks can fool cyber-attackers | Article | The United States Army
·
(PDF) The Role of Game Theory in Information Warfare
·
Recent Developments in Game-Theory Approaches for the Detection and Defense against Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs): A Systematic Review
·
THE CYBER DEFENSE REVIEW 2025, VOL. 10, NO. 2, 159-180
·
A Game-theoretic Taxonomy and Survey of Defensive Deception for Cybersecurity and Privacy
·
Game Theory for Cyber Security and Privacy | ACM Computing Surveys
·
Game Theoretic Modeling of Advanced Persistent Threat in Internet of Things - CSIAC
·
Lightweight Portable Security - Wikipedia
·
Lightweight Portable Security
·
TENS - ArchiveOS
·
Trusted End Node Security
·
Secure end node - Wikipedia
·
DistroWatch.com: Trusted End Node Security
·
Complete OS Guide: Trusted End Node Security (formerly Lightweight Portable Security (LPS)) How It Works, Orientation and Curiosities – LINUXMIND.DEV
·
Lightweight Portable Security - ArchiveOS
·
Encryption Wizard
·
Trusted End Node Security – Ray Woodcock's Latest