[I ain't givin' you no tree-fitty] Reductio Ad Absurdum

If you’ve taken a Critical Thinking class or been on a debate team, you’ve probably heard of this term and know it quite well. If you’ve have any kind of prolonged exposure to human society, then you’re 99% likely to have come in to contact with this argument. Reductio Ad Absubdum is Latin for: Reduction to the absurd. It’s an argument taken to base composition where the subject of the argument is proven false due to ridiculous nature of the proposed consequence.

For example:

If Goons is a good alliance, then I’m the most elite solo pvper ever.
Or
High sec is so safe, I can just haul my billions of ISK worth of [crap] in a frigate.

In both of these arguments the consequences stated are abused because their obvious falsehood. Presumably we all know this. In the instance of the first example; my only solo kill is from an auto piloting rifter. I’ll be the first to say that’s hardly elite solo by any means. However, we come to the second argument, there is a problem and a big one.

There are an alarming number of pilots that take this false argument as a truth. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a look at a few kill mails shall we?

○ Case #1 
○ Case #2 
○ Case #3

 
Now let’s discuss just why “High sec is so safe, I can just haul my billions of ISK worth of [crap] in a frigate" is so absurd.

There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Safe Sec (TANSTAASS)
When I was in high school I opted out of human health and took economics instead. In that wonderful class I learned about classic GTOs and economics. One of the concepts taught in the class was TANSTAAFL or There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch which is a lesson in opportunity cost and how there is a “cost” for everything.

The same concept can be applied to all space in New Eden. There is no such thing as Safe Space. Ever. No. Shush. There are elements of danger an any space in any security. There’s a saying amount EVE Online pilots. Logging in to the game is consenting to PvP. They aren’t bullshitting.

In high sec, there are people with ship scanners at gates scanning everything they can looking for a juicy target. There are gankers that don’t mind loosing their Tornado or [insert flavor of the patch here] for the chance of candy to spill out from an unsuspecting loot piñata. IT’S NOT PARANOIA IF THEY’RE REALLY OUT TO GET YOU! And make no mistake. They are out to get you… or at least what’s in your cargo bay and a pretty sweet kill mail on top of that.

The 6 P’s
Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Makes sense right? You didn’t spend all that time mining/missioning/plexing/ratting/market trading/etc to not want those several millions/billions worth of assets. You earned that shit. You want to take your shit and do whatever it was that you were planning to do with it. That’s why you got all that crap in the first place. You have plans for it. So why not protect your assets, your time and your sanity?

Use the right ship and movement methods. It really couldn’t be simpler, but we as pilots often become complacent in our habits. Once you get settled in to your Eve-Groove; you become complacent. I’m not saying you need to be on the edge of your chair and digging your nails in to your desk ever time you log in, but complacency is a bad thing. Eve Online is one of those games where constant situational awareness is necessary for survival. This is a sandbox and the name painted on the side is “Darwin.”

If you know you have to make a high value delivery then just be aware. Who hangs out in the pipe you use? Are any of them known gankers? Do you have the right ship for the job? If you don’t have the right ship is there someone who does that you can trust? Does your corporation or alliance have any war decs? You may be laughing by now, but those kill mails happen for a reason. The over all reason is usually because someone had a case of “The Dumb”, but asking yourself the simplest of question can save you a lot of heartache in the long run. It’s that simple and you have lots of options! Let us take a look at them for a moment shall we?

Choices, Choices, Choices
Orcas are fantastic for moving high value merchandise. They are capital class Industrial ships and boast a number of uses. You can tank them to high hell and the contents of the corporate hanger can not be scanned. As an added bonus; if the ship gets destroyed so do the contents of the hold.

There are also freighters and jump freighters. Freighters and jump freighters can be used in any space, but jump freighters can use cynos. The use of a cyno is a huge bonus if you’re living in low or null sec. I should also note that freighters do not have fitting slots. Their base stats are all you get. They do make up for it in cargo space.

A good mid range option for transporting goods is an advanced industrial ship. These Tech 2 ships come in two flavors; Transport and Blockade Runners. Blockade Runners have frigate like agility and a bonus to warp strength and a boost to an EHP modifier. Transport ships have the benefit of being able to fix a covert ops cloak which is valuable in any situation.

If you don’t have the skills for these there are other options. You could use a tanked T2 covert ops ship with cargo containers. It’s not the best circumstances for moving high value merchandise, but it’s better than nothing. If you have some extra ISK on hand, try a verified service like Red Frog/Black Freight. Red Frog Freight will deliver your goods anywhere in high sec for a modest fee. Black Frog Freight is their null/low sec counter part.

So please people. Spread the word and tell your friends. Stop being ridiculous.