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Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

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Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#41

Post by dredmorbius »

tomku wrote: post #12

As somebody who went through nearly the exact same experience with a different game several years ago, it's really disappointing (and unhelpful) to see so much emphasis put on the game. Starcraft 2 didn't destroy his life, his lack of self-control did. There are millions of people playing Starcraft 2 worldwide who did not do what he did. Taking action to overcome the Starcraft addiction is a good first step, but it w…

You could make the same argument that a lack of self-control destroys the lives of heroin addicts.

That self-control is based, however, on biological and physiological pathways.

Dopamine receptors, and anomalies with the dopamine system, in particular, can leave people vulnerable to various addictive habits: http://www.people.co.uk/lifestyle/real-life/2010/10/03/ms-tu...

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#43

Post by illuminate »

hosh wrote: post #37
pixelbath wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was my main problem with the article. While it's well-written, it has many details that (on the face) seem way too contrived. My friends even looked up to me, as they are monks who train Taoist Wudang Kung Fu in southwestern China. At one point I became a monk by my own right, and I was looked to for even spiritual advice. So you're such a badass that monks that train others in Kung Fu looked up to you at 18 yea…

>> My friends even looked up to me, as they are monks who train Taoist Wudang Kung Fu in southwestern China. At one point I became a monk by my own right, and I was looked to for even spiritual advice. > So you're such a badass that monks that train others in Kung Fu looked up to you at 18 years old? They also made you a monk and decided you were enlightened enough to give spiritual advice, despite the fact that you…

"That is not as incredible as it seems. You can see his addictive and competitive personality in the martial arts training. I know people like that in the martial arts world."

It's far more likely that he's a braggart and/or has some sort of personality disorder. I'm sure NPD exists in the martial arts world as well.

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#44

Post by andyakb »

Claudus wrote: post #28
luu wrote: post #18

This article has a lot of things which sound fake. Here's one: I was 6'2'', 168 lbs, 1% body fat When I was climbing competitively, I once had my bodyfat measured (by DEXA) as just under 3%. For climbing, pretty much any weight (even most muscle) is just dead weight, so climbers are as skinny and lean as any athletes out there, and I only very rarely ran into people as lean as me. I've known a lot of bodybuilders and…

I'm also a climber, I've been climbing about 20 hours a week lately, and using a cheap electric current device, I was getting measurements between 6% and 12%, and I have very lean muscle. I have some friends who are physical trainers, and they were talking about low body fat once, saying it's very difficult to to get down to around 5% and lower than 4% is dangerous. According to a random body building website thread,…

Right. I dont doubt that a reading may have shown 3%, but you simply cannot walk around with bodyfat that low. In competitions bodybuilders will get to sub 6% but they dont maintain that for more than a day or even just a few hours, because it isnt healthy, let alone try to do intense rock climbing. In short, people vastly underestimate their bodyfat percentages

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#45

Post by justjimmy »

I can relate to the OP in certain parts – though some bits do sound odd. (Like the mentioned 1% and being a top monk.)

When SC2 was released, I got into it big time as well. I know I have an addictive personality (if given the right method and circumstance), but I didn't know the term 'rage to master' I'll have to look it up.

Anyway, I slept and breath SC2. I knew it was going to get me in trouble, I had no delusions of going Pro, but I just wanted to be good. I hated the feeling of losing to cheese tactics and winnings games, surprisingly, only gave me a mild high. If I won, I wanted to be a legit win. SC2 to me is chess on steroids. I'd kept playing no matter if I won or lost.

I was aware of my personality flaw so I gave myself a goal – Plat #1 on my division and I'm done. So I reached the goal and immediately quit the ladder game. My ability to do this made me doubt if I really had an addictive personality. I find myself going through the same process for other games such as WoW and D3 – aim for the highest (reasonable) goal, 'prove' something to myself and be done.

It's really unfortunate, since I rarely play games for the sake of 'fun' anymore (any online game bring out the competitiveness in me.) Just like the Matrix guy, I don't see them as games anymore, I see them as ways to min/max, look for exploits, efficiency, risks vs rewards, mathematical equations.

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#46

Post by illuminate »

K2h wrote: post #24
luu wrote: post #18

This article has a lot of things which sound fake. Here's one: I was 6'2'', 168 lbs, 1% body fat When I was climbing competitively, I once had my bodyfat measured (by DEXA) as just under 3%. For climbing, pretty much any weight (even most muscle) is just dead weight, so climbers are as skinny and lean as any athletes out there, and I only very rarely ran into people as lean as me. I've known a lot of bodybuilders and…

It is possible his 1% body fat was an estimate or used a different technique to measure. I know nothing about it really, but it is possible he was more interested in training than finding a doctor to give him exact stats.

Considering that there's not a zillion ways to define it as it is usually used, chances are more likely pointing towards fib.

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#47

Post by CarlTheAwesome »

pixelbath wrote: post #31
luu wrote: post #18

This article has a lot of things which sound fake. Here's one: I was 6'2'', 168 lbs, 1% body fat When I was climbing competitively, I once had my bodyfat measured (by DEXA) as just under 3%. For climbing, pretty much any weight (even most muscle) is just dead weight, so climbers are as skinny and lean as any athletes out there, and I only very rarely ran into people as lean as me. I've known a lot of bodybuilders and…

This was my main problem with the article. While it's well-written, it has many details that (on the face) seem way too contrived. My friends even looked up to me, as they are monks who train Taoist Wudang Kung Fu in southwestern China. At one point I became a monk by my own right, and I was looked to for even spiritual advice. So you're such a badass that monks that train others in Kung Fu looked up to you at 18 yea…

I'm Chinese, I never heard of monks of Taoism. Those people believe in Taoism philosophy deeply, call themselves Dao Shi. And only some of Dao Shi train Taichi(a slow sport to help find inner peace), not "Wudang Kung Fu".

I'm just stating as far as I know. Maybe there're truly monks who practice "Wudang Kung Fu" and Taoism. But as far as I know, Taoism is about living peacefully and healthily and as long as possible, not about defeating your enemy.

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#48

Post by mindcrime »

K2h wrote: post #24
luu wrote: post #18

This article has a lot of things which sound fake. Here's one: I was 6'2'', 168 lbs, 1% body fat When I was climbing competitively, I once had my bodyfat measured (by DEXA) as just under 3%. For climbing, pretty much any weight (even most muscle) is just dead weight, so climbers are as skinny and lean as any athletes out there, and I only very rarely ran into people as lean as me. I've known a lot of bodybuilders and…

It is possible his 1% body fat was an estimate or used a different technique to measure. I know nothing about it really, but it is possible he was more interested in training than finding a doctor to give him exact stats.

Saying "1% bodyfat" doesn't really mean much, because even the most accurate methods of measuring bodyfat have a not insignificant margin of error. And skin-fold calipers, the most common way (in my experience) of measuring bodyfat, definitely have a significant margin of error.

You might actually read 1% on the skinfold caliper, but that doesn't necessarily mean you literally have only 1% bodyfat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#49

Post by potatolicious »

dredmorbius wrote: post #41
tomku wrote: post #12

As somebody who went through nearly the exact same experience with a different game several years ago, it's really disappointing (and unhelpful) to see so much emphasis put on the game. Starcraft 2 didn't destroy his life, his lack of self-control did. There are millions of people playing Starcraft 2 worldwide who did not do what he did. Taking action to overcome the Starcraft addiction is a good first step, but it w…

You could make the same argument that a lack of self-control destroys the lives of heroin addicts. That self-control is based, however, on biological and physiological pathways. Dopamine receptors, and anomalies with the dopamine system, in particular, can leave people vulnerable to various addictive habits: http://www.people.co.uk/lifestyle/real-life/2010/10/03/ms-tu...

The difference between Starcraft and heroin is that the vast majority of Starcraft users do not become addicts. In fact, only a very, very small portion of users do - heroin has no claims to the same.

This also brings social gaming in as a concern - what is the moral stance on games what have been specifically and deliberately engineered with said biological and psychological pathways in mind, with addiction as an intended outcome as opposed to an accidental and marginal one?

Re: Once a somebody, now a nobody: Starcraft 2 has destroyed my life

#50

Post by mindcrime »

Claudus wrote: post #28
luu wrote: post #18

This article has a lot of things which sound fake. Here's one: I was 6'2'', 168 lbs, 1% body fat When I was climbing competitively, I once had my bodyfat measured (by DEXA) as just under 3%. For climbing, pretty much any weight (even most muscle) is just dead weight, so climbers are as skinny and lean as any athletes out there, and I only very rarely ran into people as lean as me. I've known a lot of bodybuilders and…

I'm also a climber, I've been climbing about 20 hours a week lately, and using a cheap electric current device, I was getting measurements between 6% and 12%, and I have very lean muscle. I have some friends who are physical trainers, and they were talking about low body fat once, saying it's very difficult to to get down to around 5% and lower than 4% is dangerous. According to a random body building website thread,…

Depending on who you ask and what numbers you believe, the essential bodyfat % for men is somewhere in the 4-5% range. Competitive bodybuilders may well dip below that, but only briefly. I really don't think any male human can walk around at 1% bodyfat on a continual basis, based on what I've been taught about health and nutrition over the years.
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