This game has no meaning in a real sense? It could be argued that any competitive game or sport has real meaning. Winning any particular game obviously doesn't matter, but what it teaches you about individual and team effort does, as does what it teaches you about socially accepted behavior following the win or loss. Games and sports also develop physical and/or mental accuity. (Some more than others, and the effects aren't always positive). The list could go on. In that sense, games and sports do have meaning. And it's a much deeper meaning than what meets the eye.
The above analogy really doesn't work. As I pointed out, AH really doesn't correspond to the games/sports you are talking about, since scoring is easily manipulated and actual balance is a rarity. As far as teaching goes, been there done that...so long ago the T-shirt is long gone.
As for the greater meaning of games, perhaps for some of the younger members of the community such holds true.
Why do people play/participate in games and sports at all? Why do people (and animals) compete? If you think it's just for fun, you need to re-think things. We often allow the entertainment value to conceal the real reasons and values in question. If you want to argue that it's just for entertainment, consider this- WHY are games and sports entertaining? And why are they entertaining for spectators as well as participants?
Life is a competition. Games and sports simulate facets of real life. How you apply yourself in a simulation is a representation of how you perform in real life.
So, what you are saying is that we need to learn the esoteric value of games? There are many different reasons people play games, not the least of which is personal entertainment.
In point of fact, performance AH in no way is a "representation of how you perform in real life". Bottomline, life is life....AH MA's are entertainment. Now, if you would like to make your comparisons to the scenario game...I would consider the analogies to be more accurate. I do care about those out comes. That being said, the MA's are designed to be a free-for-all and
THAT is what negates the analogies you make.
My intent has never been to discredit the methods employed by Guppy/Corky, Mensa, or the others. Their methods aren't much different from mine. Read between the lines and you'll see I'm actually supporting them, which makes some of the responses frankly hilarious. My intent was to show the vocabulary used to describe their methods was incorrect.........
In part, my point is that you project your meaning into what someone else has posted. You contend that anyone saying that they don't care about the outcome isn't competitive and there for isn't a worthy opponent. It simply isn't so. One thing I learned many years ago is to not make assumptions about what people type in a BBS. Doing so is guaranteed to create misunderstandings. Sorry, but that appears to be what you have been doing.
So NoBaddy, I'm not disagreeing with you when you say "Frankly, anyone seriously concerned with the outcome of a totally virtual 'fight'..."
You're right they shouldn't care about the "outcome", but rather the effort put forth that lead to that outcome. You'll never put forth your best effort if you "don't care". And if someone "doesn't care", they'll never put forth enough effort to be much of an opponent.
None of what I'm saying is intended as a slight toward you or anyone else. You merely based your initial argument on the false assumption that anyone that doesn't care about the eventual outcome is incapable of being competitive.
Everyone here could probably do with more TV watching.
