47. Gaming Life: Play's Philosophical Edge

Everything can be conjured by the magic of the mind. There was a time when a rock could be anything. Its shape only had to hint of the possibilities. A smooth flat rock could be an alien spaceship attacking Earth, or a narrow and pointy one could be a skyscraper in New York. One always had far more than one knew how to play with. Play has evolved from back then. Nowadays a mjollnir, made with items from the secret shop in the Dota2 game, grants special abilities like static charge and chain lightning. Our playground has expanded exponentially. Not only can we play within the realms of countless games, but we also can play with the very idea of what a game can be. We have far more games than we could ever know how to play. The nature of play has changed from games with any given objects to the games themselves, but its purpose remains true - to be lost in enjoyment. 

So let's play the game of choice. Are we spoiled by the abundance of games to play or were we tricked? That depends on how you look at it. In the game of choice perspective is an important decision. It could be game-winning. We never see reality as it is but we do see something. Our perspective is shaped by various ideas such as culture and religion. To some, the Buddha and Jesus were able to win it all by elegantly playing the meta-game of life, but each played it differently. The Buddha introspectively focused on reaching a state of freedom from attachment and desire, while Jesus was destined to be a sacrificial lamb giving up his freedom to save the world. If we transitioned from religion to science what could we discover? Marie Curie loved her scientific research work. That was her game. The Nobel Laureate in physics and chemistry chose to not attend her first award's ceremony because she and her husband, with whom she shared the award, were too busy with their work. She rejected games in conflict with her most important game. John Bardeen on the other hand played more of a social game than Marie. The double physics laureate had many BBQs with the neighbors who were unaware of his success. Every person I studied who achieved extraordinary feats had only one thing in common. Maybe a secret to the game of choice is to invent new choices. One always has the choice to play the game their way and win.

Imagine choosing to win it all, conquering every game? As ambitious as that sounds it could certainly be possible if, and this is the crucial part, you have a well-constructed plan that survives rational criticism. Productivity gurus love to tell you to plan. What they never tell you is to criticize that plan. When that plan slams into reality you end up crushed along with it. I'm going to pretend to be a productivity guru for a minute but in the right way. Let's say to manifest something is to clearly reveal or show plainly a path to that something. Remember the game of choices and keep in mind that we can play with the very idea of what a game is. Let's say we want to make a plan to write a book about your life. If we start with an outline for the book you'll quickly come face to face with your insecurities. What then? Could you face them and complete the book? We started with a guess, make an outline, but maybe you are not ready to confront the insecurities it brings up. This kind of critical thinking reveals the difficulty of the path you've selected. Extending this idea, doing difficult things will probably touch our insecurities because tough challenges make us question our value and ability. This is the game of creativity, answering questions and questioning our answers. In order to write an autobiography you have to think there's something worth sharing about your life. I'm certain there is real value in writing it but are you? I know you have experiences that make you completely unique. If you told your story sincerely we'd all listen. But, you could push back in several ways. Maybe, there's something more you want to accomplish before sharing your life with the world - a valid criticism. You see, this is a dance of expression and refinement where the ultimate critic is reality. Notice how we are moving away from the standard notions of what a game is.

On to the game of Optimism. My favorite philosopher and thinker of late is David Deutsch. His principle of optimism transforms the way we view and interact with problems. The core idea is that every problem is solvable given the right knowledge. If the solution requires violating the laws of physics then you don’t really have a problem. This doesn't imply that we currently have the knowledge to solve all problems, but rather that solutions are possible in principle, and can be found through creative inquiry. So when there is a problem it signals that we require some knowledge. This idea, that problems are soluble, is based on the understanding that the growth of knowledge through science and rational inquiry has consistently allowed humanity to overcome challenges. It's an acknowledgment of the potential and power of human understanding and ingenuity. The game of optimism is not as you might have expected. It is not wishful or based in belief or positive thinking. It is about the growth of knowledge, and knowledge is not merely information. What stands in the way of understanding then? Have you ever been forced to do homework? I bet that didn’t help you understand more about the topic or subject. Maybe some facts leaked in despite the constant yawns. Maybe you even got an “A” for it and your parents were so proud. I wonder though if you actually formed an understanding of the material. The thing about games is that there is no rule that forces you to obey every rule. Obedience, while feeling coerced, is voluntary. If you cannot ask difficult questions, such as why should I learn this, then you cannot develop your own understanding, and this places a limit on your growth of knowledge. The topic may be important for you to learn but you do not understand this. This creates a subconscious virus that it is okay to commit to ideas you do not understand. You become reliant on the authority behind the ideas rather than your own relationship to them. 

In the spirit of abundance, we want to grow our knowledge and not limit it in any way because knowledge is power. It is the fuel that has catapulted humanity into realms akin to gods in the eyes of our ancestors. We can fly, we can breathe underwater, and we can move mountains. Understanding has propelled us beyond the slow dance of biological evolution. By leveraging it, we have fashioned worlds within worlds, each more complex than the last. Our goal is to learn to acknowledge that inside us there is a deep appreciation for the human experience. The purpose of any game is ultimately to remind us that the essence of being is the state of play. We play because it is the only time we are ourselves. This encourages us to take our fun seriously. We identify that the worlds we exist in can be navigated with curiosity transforming problems into opportunities for play. We make decisions to advocate for the growth of knowledge fortifying our freedom of choice. All of life is a playground. On it we suffer, we laugh, we contemplate, we haphazardly rush, we judge and are judged, but it is ours for a time - now.

(PS: I will be traveling over the next couple of days so there will be no posts for those days)