Things I've Learned from Watching Battlestar Galactica: Part One

Lesson One: "Sometimes you've got to roll the hard six."--Commander Bill Adama


No matter what television series you prefer, you can almost guarantee that here are lessons within to be learned, philosophical underlyings that linger long after you've turned of the TV and gone about your daily life. One of the most profound television series to have been created (or should I say recreated,) in my lifetime is Battlestar Galactica, the reimagined series. For those not familiar with the series, let's just say that man created cylons to make daily living easier. The cylons were essentially slaves, designed to carry out the mundane tasks that humanity no longer had time for. As the cylons evolved, they rebelled and there was war between man and his machines. Eventually the machines discovered a way to integrate themselves so closely into the fabric of humanity so as to be indistinguishable from them. The cylons created humanoid models in man's image, and then they attacked the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, wiping out all of mankind, save for about 50,000 survivors. Yikes. There are Twelve cylon models. Some of them were programmed to believe that they were human beings, but underneath the programming they were designed to carry out sabotage. In the beginning the humans had no idea that the cylons looked like them, but they soon found out.

The series follows the journey of all that is left of humanity, as the cylons chased them through galaxy after galaxy. In the beginning the hope of discovering Earth, the thirteenth colony, was used by the military and government leaders to keep humanity's spirits high.

Because there are only 50,000 humans left and their situation is absolutely dire, you would think that their experiences would have little relevancy to our own, but nothing could be further from the truth. They are still people, still governed by a political body and protected by the military. They face hunger issues, health issues, terrorism, religious struggles and an enemy so righteous they will not stop until humanity itself is eradicated from the universe.

During my time as a fan of the series I have learned a great deal. For example: appearances really are deceiving and the word frak is pretty much interchangeable with fuck in ways that would make your grandmother's dentures fall out.

One of the most important lessons I recall learning over the extent of the series took place near the end of season one. The fleet has already more or less exhausted their tylium (fuel) resources and only have enough tylium left for two jumps. The people are concerned about what will happen if the fleet runs out of fuel, as they will be left like sitting ducks for the cylons if they don't stay on the move. While out on patrol, Sharon "Boomer" Valerii and Alex "Crashdown" Quartararo discover an asteroid teeming with tylium. Unfortunately the asteroid is also a cylon refinery, meaning that the fleet will have to look elsewhere.

This is where the lesson comes in. Commander William Adama decides that they can't just let the tylium go so easily. They are coasting on fumes as it is, and the best solution is to get in there and take the cylons by surprise. He commissions viper pilot, Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, to come up with an out of the box plan to do away with the cylons and take the tylium for themselves. During the mission, Adama pulls a risky ace out of his sleeve and tells President Laura Roslin, "Sometimes you've got to roll the hard six."

Have there ever been clearer words to live by? Whether you're flipping a coin to decide if you should go with paper or plastic or making a life or death decision, sometimes you have to take the necessary risk, ie., roll the hard six. The phrase originated from the game of craps, in which a hard six is achieved by rolling two threes on six-sided dice. The probability of the hard six is very low, but the profitability pays seven to one. It's a huge gamble, but the outcome is much more desirable, and in a situation where you have no choice you've got to take a gamble.

Risk is a terrifying thing. It holds many of us back from going for new jobs, keeps us from stepping outside our boundaries. In some cases the fear of it becomes a disease that limits people from leaving their home, but without risk we need to ask ourselves, "are we really living our lives to the highest potential we can?" Without a little risk, and in some cases a lot of risk, the answer is no. And if we fail, we fail, but we won't know unless we try.

To truly experience life and all it has to offer you've got to take a chance sometimes, or in the words of Commander Bill Adama, "Sometimes you've got to roll the hard six." I hope the next time you're debating over whether or not you should risk it, roll the hard six and see where you wind up.