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Life is a game, this is your strategy guide

oliveremberton.com

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Re: Life is a game, this is your strategy guide

#101

Post by cLeEOGPw »

datphp wrote: post #72
CmonDev wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would rather read a short article with pictures then read a 300+ page book. Both of them are subjective views anyway, it's not an exact science.

It's actually as objective as you get, if there is such a thing as "rational". Rationality is the main principle of "exact" science too, and is a good tool to work within what we know. Unfortunately, it's also a limitation, and maybe what's preventing us from transcending our bonds[1]. [1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/

I view it as a sanity check that's preventing us from transcending from reality into imagination, which might or might not have anything to do with how world works.

Re: Life is a game, this is your strategy guide

#102

Post by evacuationdrill »

rikkus wrote: post #100
onion2k wrote: post #22

Every time I see an article like this I just want to grab the readers and shout "Read a philosophy book!" to them[1]. Literally every point in every article on how to live a happy life was being made by the likes of Seneca and Aristotle thousands of years ago, and there are good reasons why those writers are still the foundation for philosophy today - they were right. [1] I would recommend something like "Philosophy…

Aristotle thought that women had fewer teeth than men.

That may be true. We'd need to find out how many teeth each gender has on average.

Re: Life is a game, this is your strategy guide

#104

Post by pknight »

cell303 wrote: post #62

I really don't know how to say this without sounding like a complete bozo, but I really think that this is a very, very sad perspective on life. It tries to quantify every aspect of life (or rather: disregards any aspect that can't be quantified) and therefore leads to a view of the world that is completely mechanic. What's worse are it's dogmatic undertones. It kind of suggests that these are general rules that appl…

It's because it is a sad depiction of life and totally misguided for the purposes of making a catchy post. He took the games analogy to far the way of mechanical games that emphasize the hamster wheel approach to life.

That's not to say game play doesn't provide a very good analogy. Life makes much more sense when you relate to it like a variety of games each with their own rules. When you know the rules, everything becomes more clear. What you do with it is still up to you, but it's better than being in the dark.

Having a more playful approach to life and finding the fun in the most trivial of activities is rewarding. But unlike what the author emphasizes the in-the-moment experiences matter more than the milestones one reaches for the sake of reaching milestones.

Re: Life is a game, this is your strategy guide

#105

Post by cLeEOGPw »

JimWestergren wrote: post #85
f_salmon wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And there's a major logical error in it: > At the start of the game, you had no control over who you were or your environment. By the end of the game that becomes true again. This implies that you have some sort of control between the start and the end - which is completely untrue, because: What genes you get from your parents and in what environment you are put will determine everything that will happen in your head…

Well, I'm at the opposite scale of thinking. I think that inherited genes and location only plays a smaller part - but it depends on the person. For a normal western person my personal belief is that it is less than 10%. I am a strong believer in free will and it's what makes us so different than animals. Animals have insticts and very little free will. The thing is that if you believe in free will you have more free…

> I am a strong believer in free will and it's what makes us so different than animals. Animals have instincts and very little free will.

Let me give you a friendly advice. Belief in free will has a purpose on it's own, just like belief in God. But if you choose to believe, stay away from attempts to explain it scientifically. You will only waste everyone's time and energy. Just assume free will as a fact and move on.

And keep animals out of it. They have as much free will as you.

Re: Life is a game, this is your strategy guide

#107

Post by Ygg2 »

_mulder_ wrote: post #86
Ygg2 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Your character is truly random selected so expect anything. Actually no, it's more like PRNG. Which stands for Predictably Random Natural Genetic. Lack of save state is really bad though. Also humans are hard to grasp. Really poor UI.

I see what you're getting at, but I disagree; you can't really chose your parents can you. So from your point of view, however you end up when you're born, is actually completely random and out of your control.

No but that's not the point. If you know seed of PRNG you can based on predecessors find next element. Also it's a joke :)

Re: Life is a game, this is your strategy guide

#108

Post by maxerickson »

f_salmon wrote: post #59
onion2k wrote: post #22

Every time I see an article like this I just want to grab the readers and shout "Read a philosophy book!" to them[1]. Literally every point in every article on how to live a happy life was being made by the likes of Seneca and Aristotle thousands of years ago, and there are good reasons why those writers are still the foundation for philosophy today - they were right. [1] I would recommend something like "Philosophy…

And there's a major logical error in it: > At the start of the game, you had no control over who you were or your environment. By the end of the game that becomes true again. This implies that you have some sort of control between the start and the end - which is completely untrue, because: What genes you get from your parents and in what environment you are put will determine everything that will happen in your head…

You are still making a value judgement.

That is, why shouldn't people with genes more suited to the environment they live in enjoy more success?

To answer that question, you have to assign some values to things, which is not a strictly logical process.

Re: Life is a game, this is your strategy guide

#109

Post by babby »

daGrevis wrote: post #83

I would like to share my opinion on living life. What is the main goal? Some may think that it's getting better at something to get a raise and more money. First there is a school, then there is the 1st job, the you try to get a better one and you are trying and trying and trying to get higher. In my opinion, that's not the main point and it's just a side-effect of the life. Article suggests that 1st 15 years of life…

While I mostly agree with you, one could also argue that there is a meaning to life and that is not to be happy but is to instead do all that one can do to further human survival (or whatever we end up turning into). One person providing some obscure service eventually bubbles up to the guys colonizing other worlds.

There is a default meaning to our life, and it's merely survival. I believe there is a balance between giving into ones emotions and not; doing many great and small things which accumulate into mattering in the grand scheme of it all, determining ones worth.

You're lying on your death bed and you ask yourself; how meaningful were my actions to this universe?

Re: Life is a game, this is your strategy guide

#110

Post by edent »

oliveremberton wrote: post #11
opendomain wrote: post #3

This is a fantastic article - I wish I had known this guide when I was young. I liked it so much, I sent a link to my teenage son. However, if you would not mind, could this be edited so my teeanage daughter would also enjoy it? Unless, of course, she wants to be a "ladies magnet" - I support her life choices. But if we want more women entrepreneurs, we should encourage them to follow a path like this without the pos…

Thanks. I did agonise over that part at the time I wrote it. I couldn't think of a more inclusive alternative, and chose something a little comedic on purpose ('ladies man') in the hope it wouldn't be taken too seriously. Open to suggestions.

I thought it was fun. But the protagonist in every screen shot appears to be a straight white male.

Depending on how you're counting, that's about 15% of the world population.

Why not make it interactive, and let the user choose who they are? Or add more variation to the images? Or talk about getting on with people who "aren't like me"?

Good fun piece though.

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