Force Multiplier

A while back in youtube land somebody posted this video from a movie I have yet to see, but have been assured it is awful.

A more serious take on the item is here:

He has a million videos of a million odd-shaped plastic widgets, and talking about just how effective a weapon they are. Sorry, not buying it.

Let’s have a look at force multipliers. Some will increase the damage your natural body can do. Things like Brass Knuckles, or say the Ka-Bar TDI, or steel toed boots are very small, and add insignificant range to the natural punches or kicks a person might use in self defense, but they do increase the effectiveness of those blows if landed.

I’m kinda searching my mind for a weapon that only adds range to an attack but does not increase damage. Maybe a wooden chair like you see the old-time lion tamers use, or say a thrown rock or other weighted object. They really don’t do a lot more damage than say a good solid punch, but they extend how far out you can engage an attacker. This is quite an advantage as if you can hit them, but they can’t hit you, it doesn’t matter how much damage you do with each strike, they’re getting hit, you’re not.

Go into a museum of anthropology and you’ll see weapons that add both. Say the club, one of the most basic weapons, it adds some range to an attack, but also adds a lot of damage due to the hard surface, weight, and leverage. Knives, swords, and axes use all these principals but add a sharp edge so that you can attack your opponents vital organs, not just their surface.

More advanced are the ranged weapons. Spears, bows and arrows, slung shot, all caused more damage than a person could do normally, and at much greater range.

That plastic thing, doesn’t seem to add much to anything. It might add a bit to striking force as the plastic is harder than a human fist, but it adds zero range. And then there are all those silly gimmicks. The ability to pinch hold somebody? Digit capture? Nice, but not something I want to trust my life with. Better than bare-handed, but not by much.

Now we move on to the personal firearm. Range, HUGE even a handgun you can successfully engage targets beyond 25 yards, further if you’re good, or don’t rush the shot. Rifles and shotguns offer massive range and massive stopping power. Handguns diminished stopping power and range, but the ability to carry one with you wherever you may go and still have hands free to do other tasks. Also since the weapons are powered by chemical energy in the form of the gun powder, it doesn’t require significant input from the user to use all the power. Meanwhile the more primitive longbow requires the user’s strength to charge the bowstring that launches the arrow.

So in the end, the Second Amendment covers all arms, be they pistols, shotguns, or rifles, or be they nunchaku, knives, or brass knuckles….even silly plastic gimmicks! I prefer to concentrate my efforts on the personal firearm because it offers the greatest multiplication of force, and it is universal on who can use it. A strong man in his prime can shoot at gun effectively, as can an old woman, or somebody with a physical disability.

And of course remember the term “Force Multiplier”, because that’s all it does. Take the greatest multiplier in the world and multiply it by zero….you still have zero. Weapons are just tools, if you don’t use them they don’t do anything.