Only Cheaters Prosper

[Scribbly]

I used to write a lot. It was a way to express myself, and I fancied that I might refine my style somewhat, that I might become a professional. I wrote about a lot of subjects, too. I wrote about the things I thought were important; country, life, death. I find it pretty funny, looking back on it, because I wrote about all those things without really having very much experience with them aside from the representations of them I saw in the media I chose to surround myself with.

One of the metaphors I always liked was to think of life like a game. I used to think that money was a useful way to keep score. The winner is the guy who dies with the most stuff, right? What else are you going to use to keep track? But, if that's the case, then we've reached the point where the winners and losers have already been determined. The stranglehold that the elite have on the resources of the world has reached such an overwhelming point that, even when it is painfully obvious that people are simply gaming the system to get as much out of it as they can, nobody seems particularly willing to step up and actually stop it.

We are living in times of apathy. A time in which most people simply do not care about the bigger issues, either because they cannot afford to for fear of losing what little grip on their situation they have, or because they can see no way to change it. When even the word 'Change' has become a cynical tool with which to ensure more of the same, what hope is there for things to get better?

If life is a game, then this is a game in which only cheaters prosper. When reform is a stillborn prospect, and open protest only marks you as an easy target, your choices are rather limited. Unless you happen to be amongst the privilidged already, you are a victim. A consumer. Your only fate is to grind ever onward and eke out whatever comfort you can from a system which, if you are lucky, will never notice you exist.

Or you can become a cheater. Move the boundaries of success. If they have monopolized the means by which they score points, find new goals. When I was younger, I used to dream that it might be possible to reform the system to something more fair, but really, that's choosing to participate in a game which they have already won. Why would you want to do that? Instead, play by new rules. Set new goals, targets which might not bring as tangible rewards as some, but bring satisfaction, or laughter.

If life is a game, cheat. Because if you've only got one hand, you may as well make the best of it whilst you can.

[LMNO]

Is it cheating if you make up your own game?

[Scribbly]

 

Well. More seriously, I think it counts, working on the assumption that most people presume we all play by the same rules. Deciding that you play by an entirely different set would certainly count as cheating in their eyes, wouldn't it?

[Kai]

Just cover your ass. Monkeys don't like other monkeys that play by different rules.

[Captain Utopia]

Cheating works when you can get away with it. When there is no accountability. When the little people who serve you coffee and make you shiny things get up every morning and do the same thing as yesterday. Or a different interchangeable, disposable little person. Because as long as they appear to be playing by your rules, you must be winning? Right?

Wrong.

While you may employ people to "use the google" for you, that same communication technology which the fools pay on average $50/month to take advantage of has already changed the course of democracy into a new political landscape which we don't even have proper words for yet.

Yes, I know it seemed like quite a wheeze when you managed to convince the little people that their only chance to emulate your radiant success, which your networks plaster over the cable channels they scrimp to afford, was to screw each other over and cheat as blatantly as yourselves. Survivor! Reality TV! Is Really Real! For the most part they didn't notice that without cooperation they kept themselves down, and those who did notice it had no voice. Your grip on media and societal communication saw to that. Well played.

How can it be that a threat comes from the same unclean masses who bring you longcat and waste their hours twittering or chattering endlessly on youtube, who laugh at endless variations of "yo dawg" and waste their internet connection talking on forums about the most inane shite?

But you forget that all empires fall. As will ours one day. But enjoy your twilight years while you can, for today we are ascendant.

First rule of slave ownership - don't let the fuckers talk.

[Scribbly]

While you may employ people to "use the google" for you, that same communication technology which the fools pay on average $50/month to take advantage of has already changed the course of democracy into a new political landscape which we don't even have proper words for yet.

Has it? I see very little evidence of that. The internet is a new medium, but as far as I can tell the impact of this on the actual workings of politics has been minimal as far as I can tell. There's some new avenues of discussion, but no real impact on the way the elites continue to operate.

But you forget that all empires fall. As will ours one day. But enjoy your twilight years while you can, for today we are ascendant.

Again, I see no evidence that all 'empires' will continue to fall. It's naive to assume that because the elites have changed in the past, they will continue to do so in the future. Least of all when the people in power are not directly tied to the systems which they use to maintain dominance.

The fact that the current elites maintain dominance across most forms of media is an interesting one, but one that is somewhat tangential to the point I was trying to make; that it is more useful to try and play by different rules to the standard (accumulation of money overrides everything else), as following that route leads to a situation in which the existing elites have all the cards.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Just cover your ass. Monkeys don't like other monkeys that play by different rules.

Yes, they typically kill them, usually in the name of their monkey god.

[Captain Utopia]

While you may employ people to "use the google" for you, that same communication technology which the fools pay on average $50/month to take advantage of has already changed the course of democracy into a new political landscape which we don't even have proper words for yet.

Has it? I see very little evidence of that. The internet is a new medium, but as far as I can tell the impact of this on the actual workings of politics has been minimal as far as I can tell. There's some new avenues of discussion, but no real impact on the way the elites continue to operate.

To put it in some perspective, Youtube came out in 2005. Swiftboating worked in 2004, but similar attempts failed in 2008. I wouldn't say it's primarily Youtube, but also the way we've made a cultural shift towards taking information from traditional sources of original content produced for print and tv, and distributing that content production potentially to anyone with a cellphone, who happens to be in the right place at the right time. As it turns out, that's a lot of people.

If we weren't turning in greater numbers towards blogs and forums and other online venues then the newspaper industry would still be thriving.

Now: rumours can be quashed instantaneously - not for people predisposed to believe them (that hasn't changed), but where the infection rate would previously skyrocket due to a simple lack of information, this is no longer the case.

At no other time have politicians had to be more careful about the bullshit they spout in private gatherings, or at obscure public events. This is a wonderful thing, since they can't control their idiocy.

But you forget that all empires fall. As will ours one day. But enjoy your twilight years while you can, for today we are ascendant.

Again, I see no evidence that all 'empires' will continue to fall. It's naive to assume that because the elites have changed in the past, they will continue to do so in the future. Least of all when the people in power are not directly tied to the systems which they use to maintain dominance.

True, but their dominance is through ignorance. As a civilisation we are becoming less ignorant as we continue to become more self-aware. Not all short-term trends point that way, but that is to be expected.

The fact that the current elites maintain dominance across most forms of media is an interesting one, but one that is somewhat tangential to the point I was trying to make; that it is more useful to try and play by different rules to the standard (accumulation of money overrides everything else), as following that route leads to a situation in which the existing elites have all the cards.

I agree with you. Control, and/or exclusive access to certain channels of communication is the gravy that floats the boats of the "elites" - the rules of the game have already changed in that regard. It used to be that money was required to manipulate those channels, it is not an inconsiderable fact that this situation has changed, in the last decade, for the first time in human history.

The people with accumulated money don't see it coming. They would see the time and energy that someone like Cain invests as a "waste" - our time isn't quite here yet and our ability to shape new rules is still nascent - but I can't think of any other period of history I'd rather witness.

[Golden Applesauce]

@OP -

If life is a game, then the only "real" rules are fundamental physical laws.  "No creating perpetual motion machines."  "No creating or destroying momentum.", stuff like that.  Reality itself is the ultimate arbiter on the rules, and simply outright prohibits rule breaking.

This leads to a state of affairs where, say, "Push Bob into a meat grinder" is a valid game move, and (worse) there's no victory condition.  People generally dislike this sort of game, and would prefer not to play in one.  So they create additional rules, ("No killing," "Living a good life is victory.") in effect creating a sub-game by limiting the number of possible actions.  But who is "they"?  Certainly not you, unless you're very lucky.  In fact, since the game changes over time, it is possible for some groups to slowly change the rules to their advantage.  "No killing, unless the other guy is a minority or you are a state." "Living a submissive life to the state/majority God is victory", etc.  And eventually the game gets to a point, where much like the original, anything-goes game, you really don't want to play anymore.

Well, then stop.

When God gives you lemons, you find a new god.  When The Game gives you a handful of losing, dead-end options, you play a new game.  You aren't cheating, you're just playing a different game by different rules.

This can lead to massive conflict when different people are playing different games.  Imagine what would happen if one guy came to box and the other guy came to sword fight.  The boxer would claim that the swordsman was cheating by bringing a sword to a boxing match and therefore deserves some kind of punishment, and the swordsman would claim that the boxer was simply an idiot for showing up unarmed to a sword fight and deserves getting his head lopped off.

How to resolve this, I'm not quite sure, but not getting caught helps for a while (until you actually do get caught,) living in a remote location with no humans around helps (but then you can't play group games or unlock Relationship Mode.)  I suppose the ideal solution would be to become the "they" and convince others that they'd be better off playing your version of the game.  But wait - that's not quite ideal.  It'd be better if you added an extra rule or two, like "Don't talk bad about this version of the game" (to keep people playing it) or "Give me 10% or all your stuff" (hey, you're not a charity, right?  Besides, that stuff will go towards spreading the New and Improved game and making everybody winninger) ....

[The Good Reverend Roger]

As a civilisation we are becoming less ignorant as we continue to become more self-aware.

HAW HAW!

[Captain Utopia]

As a civilisation we are becoming less ignorant as we continue to become more self-aware.

HAW HAW!

Thankyou for pointing out my ignorance.

[Kai]

As a civilisation individuals we are becoming become less ignorant as we continue to become more self-aware.

Fixed for truth.