I'm a B.A. in economics, and apparently, along with Jacob, not the only Master of Divinity student who plays Diplomacy.

I was just kidding, I just love my math/physics... and everybody else should do the same!

Also to you Americans out there, why do so many of you write "B.S." rather than "B.Sc."? Is it just shorthand or is that actually the degree that is conferred to you?

^@vamosrammstein

vamos, you're doing just fine. I'm pretty sure any number of AP courses in grade 10 is significantly ahead of the curve. My high school didn't offer any AP courses at all despite it's emphasis on academics, and I don't feel disadvantaged, but I'm sure that they help.

Steevo, join in on more of the philosophical discussions then. I've found that just lulzworth's addition to the conversation has greatly improved the quality of the threads and he's just one philosophy major. We could have two! =)

Is there room for a philosophy professor? :)

Everyone is welcome to join in. You'll have to be patient with us philosophical amateurs, but I suspect that as a prof you've had to read your fair share of freshman philosophy papers. My condolences. =P

BA in Math, Master's in applied Statistics, second year of PhD in Economics.....none of it has helped me in my two months of playing this game. However, I was only introduced to the game by a group of Econ grad students who play together and needed another player. The Micro people Game theory types (very unlike me) seem to be the better players of the group.

B.S. in Geology... seriously considering a shift to secondary teaching of sciences - though I'd have to weather a cut in pay for the first 10 years or so. Favorite non-science classes in college: Logic, Eastern European Film, Study of Language

B.A. in history and a Master in Teaching

The question was what our most successful diplomats have studied. It might be most interesting to see if the top ghost-rated players lean toward certain areas of study.

@KaptinKool BS and MS are the conventional abbreviations here for Bachelor/Master of Science. I've never seen B.Sc. (or M.Sc.) before.

"I'd predict that I'm younger than you ZaZa, and I'm 5th ranked on GR"

How old? 17 here. Vamosrammstein--tenth, that's a nice grade.

"I'm working on it, but being in 10th grade limits ones options for AP classes:["

Try getting into AP classes in rural North Dakota. The only thing I get is College Algebra and College English. They turned me down for College Calculus because I was the only person interested.

@MKECharlie - that is interesting, for the most part the commonwealth writes B.Sc./M.Sc., I guess I just wasn't familiar with the American system (I'm Canadian).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Science
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Science

Are you shitting me? 10th grade is the worst, all my classmates have this idea that because they're no longer freshmen that they can do whatever they want, and it is beyond infuriating. I'm the only sophomore in a class of 10 total in my AP world class. AP classes are rampant here in the Lehigh Valley, only reason I can't take most of them is I don't have space in my schedule yet.

Maybe Gr.10 sucks in North Dakota, but personally I loved it. Not much academic pressure yet (though it is obviously important to keep your grades up), just kicking it with friends.

But about your AP classes, I question how you are taking so many in Grade 10. Maybe it's a Canadian thing, but I had to finish the high school courses before I could take the corresponding AP course. All of that good stuff was my last semester in Grade 12... so how is room on your schedule the only issue?

My bad, I confused `ZaZaMaRaNDaBo` with vamosrammstein.

I've only got one in 10th grade, and AP world is more an experimental elective that we're just making up as we go than a real class. AP English is offered in 11th and 12th grade only, same with history, those classes being US history part 2 in 11th grade (basically everything beyond the reconstruction efforts after the civil war up until the cold war), and government/economics in 12th grade. AP chem and Physics can't be taken before 11th grade, and AP calc and AP stat require you to have gotten through precalc first, which is scheduled as an 11th grade course. You can double math classes if you want, which I did last year as a freshmen, but there are only 8 classes I can take throughout the whole year, and at least 6 of them are set in stone and cannot be changed, so I don't have a lot of wiggle room to take AP courses. I tried to take AP psychology too, but juniors and seniors get precedence over little sophomore me, so I got bumped from that. I only really got into AP world because it was such a small group even before all the dropouts, so I'm there because nobody else wants to be. In reality the only way for a 10th grader to take AP courses is to get essentially 2 years ahead in math courses, and take AP calc and AP stat sophomore year, as some of my asian supernerd friends are doing.

I'm in university; I study International Relations and Global studies.

But I started playing this in high school, so Zaza, yes I am in high school and yes you can be good in high school.

As to TGM's four areas of Diplomacy, my personal evaluation is-

Tactics: A
Strategy: B
Diplomacy - Trust: C
Diplomacy - Convincing: C-

Lol. I'm just not that awesome at diplomacy. People tend to just ignore me.

I think it's because I don't spend very long trying to convince people like I used to, I'm just not passionate enough probably.

BA in History, MA (expecting) in Social Sciences. I think chess gave me a good Diplomacy background, though, in terms of moves and move-prediction.

Tactics and strategy are really the same thing. The categories should be:

Strategy, evaluation of character and ability to influence.

I've learned recently that tactics and strategy are very different. You can win every time in a 50/50, but if you don't have the strategy to back it up, you won't get anywhere past the 10 SC mark.

The word strategy is a synonym for tactic and vice versa. TGH was simply describing strategic timing and long term strategic planning. But the words are the same.

Two mistakes:
*TGM, and the words are *essentially* the same

I think by tactics Thucydides is talking about the ability to win a war. They're synonyms, yes, but you have to analyze the context that is trying to be conveyed. Strategy would be to know who to go to war with. They're two different, yet similar terms.

BA Business Economics
Master of Architecture

I'm a math guy, more of an engineer's brain than an architect's, and hated any/all English classes with a passion.

B. A. in History and Secondary Education for me. I'm working on special education. I'm pretty good at math and logic too though.

I agree with TGM's description, and I'd have to say that I'm much better at tactics and maybe the trusting part, than the other areas.

I always thought of tactics as knowing how to use the rules to your advantage: knowing a unit can't cut support of an attack on itself, using self-standoffs, supporting an opponent's move when he doesn't want it, and the like; strategy, on the other hand, as being able to form a plan for your game and execute it -- more "big picture."

"I'm a math guy, more of an engineer's brain than an architect's, and hated any/all English classes with a passion."

I'm a math guy. 7th grade North Dakota State MathCounts particpant and American Mathematics Association Freshman/Sohpmore division two-time winner. However, I love English.

I feel it comes down to what some others have said
Tactics- both working out the best moves for you and what your enemies might do , this also includes knowledhge of the game system(supports/cuts/etc).
Strategy- the long term view
Diplomacy- sounding convincing/ trustworthy

and a 4th part- time, the time you can put into thinking about a game/typing messages/ looking at the board counts a lot. this counts an awful lot i feel.