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News Black Shark Institute Empowering conflict creators to destroy stagnation. Black Shark Institute is a teaching organisation that compliments Eve University by offering specialist and postgraduate courses in military and political influence. Say hi to the community.

Reddit and Wiki The Problem New Players can join Eve as a solo pilot or a corporation foot soldier, but it is almost impossible for them to become an influencer or to challenge the established power structures.

The Mission

To empower new players to join the Eve Game of Thrones as an influencer rather than a foot soldier.

The Method

We teach students how to learn rather than teach them knowledge.



We approach learning as self directed puzzle solving.



Our approach is a learning loop of theorycrafting, experimentation and refinement.



We do not ever reach a learning destination, rather we all continue to find newer more complex puzzles to solve.



It is important to have mentors who are ahead of you in your learning journey, and to mentor those who follow behind.



As the learner gains the knowledge of how to solve the many puzzles that make up each area of Eve Online they gain influence and power in each of these areas.



This allows them to transition from being irrelevant to being politically influential.



Rather than being a character in someone elses story you can then start to write your own story on the pages of history.

The Result

A student who has mastered the art of the Black Shark Method will display the 4 habits that make up our motto; Train, Hunt, Feed, Preach.



Train



For a Black Shark, gaining knowledge is always more important than material possessions such as resources or territory. The training loop, of theorycrafting, experimentation and refinement, is a daily habit.



Hunt



A Black Shark is always an initiator, one who creates content, one who is actively influencing the world around them, rather than passively going with the flow. As soon as you have solved one puzzle you can be a leader and content creator in that area. This means that you can be a leader from within a week of starting to learn. As you master more puzzles you can lead in more areas.



Feed



A Black Shark will be strategic and clever in gaining resources, knowledge is the most important resource followed by influence / loyalty, however more material resources like money, ships and weapons need to be accumulated in order to influence the world around us.



Preach



A Black Shark is always sharing the good news of the Black Shark Method. For a healthy community, there needs to be a loop of learning and teaching. The generosity of mentoring the younger learner, keeps the Shark protected from falling into self indulgence and bitterness.

Study Areas

Faction Warfare A one to six month training experience that will build the foundational skills that are required for military and political influence.



Our lowsec corporation is called Black Shark Cult and is a proud member of the alliance called The Bloc who is in turn a member of the Caldari Militia.

Sovereign Nullsec A one to six month training experience that builds on the skills learnt in faction warfare, and integrates a wider range of economic and military options.



Our nullsec corporation is called Black Shark Crusaders and is a proud member of the alliance called The Bastard Cartel, who are a sovereign territory holding alliance in the south of New Eden.

Corporation Building Our keystone training experience. Build upon the foundational skills taught in faction warfare and sov nullsec to build your organisation. Over 3 - 6 months, you will participate in a coordinated military campaign which will provide key support in content creation and recruitment publicity which will launch you to reach the critical mass you need to become self sustaining.

Research Method

For those who wish to go deeper, our research paradigm makes us of both complexity science and traditional linear reductionist science.



Our learning method draws heavily from experiential learning and game-based learning.



We are always looking for more researchers who can isolate Eve Game Mechanics, and then create gamified experience around them in the form of puzzles. So that when learners play with and solve this puzzle they will intuitively understand how to influence that game mechanic.

Study Skills

Eve is made up of many simple mechanics, these mechanics interact in complex ways.



This requires two types of learning.



Linear learning to understand each individual mechanic and complex learning to be able to predict the emergent interactions between the multitude of simple mechanics.





When approaching a new skill:



1. Deconstruct the skill.



Break the skill down into its most basic parts. Which parts are necessary for hitting the goal you have?



2. Learn enough to self correct



Learn enough to realize when you're making mistakes.



3. Remove barriers to practice



Focus on one skill until you really understand it, don't procrastinate, or distract yourself.



4. Practice for at least 20 hours



For around the first 20 hours you feel like a failure and loser, push through this with determination and you will solve the puzzle.





If you are finding that you are just totally overwhelmed, step back and find a way to break the puzzle into smaller parts.





For instance before learning fleet commanding, learn solo combat, and before learning solo combat, learn how turret mechanics, and repair mechanics work.



It is often good to create a practice exercise that allows you to repeatedly practice single mechanism against predictable AI opponents. This allows you to repeat the individual skill enough times to thoroughly learn it.



However as soon as you think you have a grasp on how the individual linear skill works, go and put it into practice in a complex situation so that you can see how that skill interacts with others.



Make sure that you regularly swap between learning individual linear skills and combined complex skills.