>Author is stupid and tries to write a smart character >Everyone

>>153176640
>This weapon is unbeatable! One hit is all it takes! Behold the power that will break all enemies in Barbados' way!

>>153177908
Thats the best one

Yang Wenli

>>153178988
Yang Wenli is what happens when a social and political historian has to write fleet battles.

>>153176640
>>153179083
It becomes exponentially difficult for authors to write characters smarter than they are themselves, and most forms of popular fiction don't attract the smartest people to create them anyway.

Hence, dumbing down other characters and/or just making everyone treat somebody as smart is drastically easier.

>>153179462
It's more complex than that. While it's generally true, it's also the case in say the LoGH author where the guy is very smart himself, but has little experience with certain subjects. Hence why in matters of political and cultural commentary he is very clever and the characters are very insightful - but when he has to write the ~most brilliant strategist in the universe~ he falls short and everyone on the other side suddenly becomes a drooling moron.

>>153179532
In situations like that, I think it'd be preferrable to just not go into details of the unfamiliar subject, such as space battles. If the specifics of strategy and tactics aren't really the point, it's okay to have those specifics happen offscreen.

>>153179639
Asking a Space Opera to skip the Space Battles is fairly unreasonable

>>153179749
I didn't mean quite that. Showing large scale battles is okay, getting into more details about individual feats of heroism and moments of terrible targedy that happen during the battle is also okay, but describing the plans and thought processes of the people ultimately in charge is more trouble than it's worth. Well, unless you happen to be an expert on the subject.

>>153179532
>>153179462
It seems like the solution to that, though obviously not always applicable, would be to crib from real life. You don't have to read up on strategy and invent the battle wholesale, just copy something by a highly-regarded commander. Same goes for the "he's so smart" chess shit - Aldnoah, of all things, got it right, just paste a high-level match.

>>153180344
>from real life.
>for space battles
No.
You are just going to end up with drooling morons again.

>>153180414
The space battles not working like space battles is a separate issue from the opponents being impressed/overwhelmed by obvious shit.

>>153176640
Writing is hard

>>153179083
good one