From: Calvin Ashmore (coa@andrew.cmu.edu)
Date: Sun Jan 18 2004 - 14:01:25 MST
I think what David means by "playing life as a game", means that one defines
their own "winning" condition- or winning conditions, and seeks to optimize
moves in order to obtain it.
For instance- my winning condition for today is to finish writing my
statement of purpose. My moves (so far) have consisted of waking up at noon,
getting breakfast, doing laundry, working on the statement a little, and
writing this. If I can focus on the statement and finish it tonight, then
I've done what I set out to do, and I've won for today. Another good example
is Mermaid's Virian Fitness Boot Camp.
Goals can consist of anything, and if you can accomplish them, you'll feel
venerated and feel like you are doing the best in life. It is totally
relative and subjective.
I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that a game must have a finite
number of rules. Consider this very simple game, you choose a positive
natural number, and if it is one of 2,4,6,8,10,... Then you win, otherwise
you lose. This may be thought of countably many rules, but it also is
equivalent to a single rule- if the number you choose is even then you win,
and you lose otherwise.
You might not agree that this example is a game, but that line of argument
reqires a more formal definition of what a game actually is. There are other
more theoretic and pathological types of games in which the players don't
know what the rules are, and other wierder situations arise. I'd need some
time to find some examples, though.
But those are just my observations.
David can correct me if I've got the wrong idea :]
Now, back to the statement of purpose...
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