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The Factorio Mindset

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Re: The Factorio Mindset

#351

Post by imtringued »

serverholic wrote: post #201
impalallama wrote: post #183

> I used to be of the opinion that the computer game Factorio was a colossal waste of talent, burning many billions of dollars of GDP every year.... But since trying it out a bit more I’m starting to suspect that Factorio is the rare computer game to actually increase GDP. Hell of an opener that just makes me immediately dislike this guys entire worldview. Kinda also backed up by the fact that he doesn't mention the…

Some people legitimately think the purpose of life is productivity. I see quite a few on twitter and I can't help but stare and study them like some alien lifeform.

I've played a game called Prosperous universe and witnessed the end of capitalism. Think about it. A game where the enjoyment is derived from economic activity and it's growth. At some point you reach the end of the tech tree. There are no new frontiers to discover. There is no need for further productivity. The game is prone to making itself redundant. If there was no base limit and bots were accepted the entire game could be played by a single player thereby eliminating the need for all other players.

When you consider this inherent contradiction you really start wondering what the point of capitalism is. You reach the end and stop playing. Why haven't we stopped "playing" the same way I stopped playing?

There is an existential crisis at the core of capitalism. Productivity can only exist for the sake of leisure.

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#352

Post by imtringued »

julianeon wrote: post #20

I often encounter this issue when it comes to programming-like games. I’m wondering if I should adjust my thinking here. 1) Hmm, this game is a lot like programming. A lot like it. 2) Maybe I should just program? That is real work & I can get done more work done, be more productive. 3) [stopped game, started programming]

You will eventually run into the problem that nobody wants your "productivity".

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#353

Post by imtringued »

pm90 wrote: post #286
zouhair wrote: post #257

> I used to be of the opinion that the computer game Factorio was a colossal waste of talent, burning many billions of dollars of GDP every year. I dunno if the author is joking or not, but I heard this argument over and over. Am I in the minority to think that it's totally insane that everything should revolve around raising the GDP? I feel smart people working at Facebook or Google working hard at finding new ways…

A charitable interpretation is that it’s an attempt to continue the spectacular growth of labor efficiency that has lifted large sections of the world out of poverty. Doesn’t change that it’s rather silly to constantly think of individual actions’ effect on a macroeconomic measure.

Productivity growth and economic growth aren't the same thing. If you have the first but not the second you have more free time.

(assuming a demurrage currency and land value taxes)

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#354

Post by imtringued »

jl6 wrote: post #100

I feel compelled to repost a comment of mine from the simutrans thread: — So, this is totally pop-evolutionary-psychology, but I think the relevant predisposition is towards hoarding. For 100,000 generations, humans (and our ancestors before then) have had to gather and store food and other supplies to see them through the winter (or other hard times). We are wired to do this because we would have died out if we didn…

In keynesian economics the desire to hoard is known as liquidity preference because you want things you hoard to be immediately accessible i.e. liquid and require compensation to cease keeping something immediately available.

Most physical objects deteriorate over time which makes gold inspired money an exceptionally poor way to keep track of things because the things that deteriorate disappaer but the gold that represents the things that deteriorated did not. So people hold onto gold or money without limit as it does not capture the full cost of deterioration leading to an imminent crisis in an economy that is not growing because the ponzi scheme has been exposed.

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#355

Post by Gortal278 »

_9omd wrote: post #241

My problem with games like Factorio (and more recently Oxygen no Included), is that after I get addicted and get up past 100 hours of gameplay I start to question what the hell I'm doing with my life. Up until that point it's great fun designing, building, and optimizing, but then a switch in my head flips. I start to become anxious about the fact that I was excited about getting better at skills in a virtual world.…

Why can't you just enjoy a hobby? Why do you feel the urge to extract productivity gains from something fun.

Re: The Factorio Mindset

#356

Post by philwelch »

imtringued wrote: post #349
philwelch wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not even sure that’s true. Energy abundance solves most of these problems.

We don't have energy abundance. We are burning our ancestors (hyperbole for fossil fuels) to stay alive.

We're capable of developing and building out abundant energy production over the next century if we want to, and doing so is going to be a far preferable option to deliberate material deprivation.
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