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If you cannot win, why play?
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At one time or another, someone has surly come up to you after doing something foolish and told you, “life is not a game.†However, after pondering that fact, it has come to my attention that life is exactly that, a game! Think about it… In all games, you need cretin things, the things that make the game a game. First off, a game needs players. In life, the players are each and every one of us. Second, a game needs a playing field. Life’s playing field is Earth, the third planet from a star located on one of the arms of the Milky Way Galaxy. Next, a game needs rules. These rules are very simple to understand. The rules of gravity, “Thou shalt not killâ€, and no parking are examples of the rules placed upon us by science, religion, and society. Lastly, a game needs 2 final things, a defiant winner and a defiant looser… Now most people would agree that you loose at life when you die. That seems like a perfectly valid explanation, the classic “Game Over†that appears when good old Mario looses his last life. All right, now that we have established how to loose at life, how do you win? Most people would say, “You win at life when you become rich and famous.†Well ok, but isn’t there always someone who is richer than you? And if there isn’t…will that person not eventually die? Will he not have then lost? You cannot both win and lose at the same time; there are no ties in this game. So then, if you cannot win at a game…why play?  |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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by humblemonkey
on 2005-07-05 23:37:02
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Well, this is where religion comes into play. Having some kind of belief in a higher form and an afterlife makes someone feel as if they are "winners" and that as long as they play the game right they will win, even when it looks like they die when they lose. Besides, the whole relation between "losing" and "death" comes from people's fear of death. That fear is within every living creature and that fear is what drives them to live and procreate (in effect recreating themselves and becoming "immortal"). But who is to say that death is the end of the game? It's almost as if life is a massive board game where the pieces you can see are living people, and when one of those pieces dies, it gets sent to an area of the board no one sees until they get there. Maybe the game continues when one dies... maybe there is no real loser anyway... for people that believe in reincarnation it could just be a neverending game. I don't think that we do know all the rules of the game. Part of having that mystery is what keeps people playing. ... I went on too long. :/ |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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so your saying there is like a next level? well thats a good THEORY but (as mr. humblemonkey knows) im a realist. i only believe things that have scientific proof. so, can you PROOVE there is an afterlife. can you POOVE that there is a next level? well , can you? also, the idea of playing to reproduce is (in my opinion) just part of the game. kind of like a minigame. (ill admit a rather enjoyable mimigame, lol!) but saying the goal of life is reproduction is like saying "after you have kids, there is no reason to live" is this what you trying to say? |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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by ナサーニエルå›
on 2005-07-07 03:45:29
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I agree with humblemonkey about the afterlife. If I knew that I couldn't win a game, I would still try as hard as I could. I mean if you were playing a video game, and the game was really hard, and you knew you couldn't win, would try at least once? You learn from failure, and can get around the obstacles that are hindering you. My example of this would be Megaman 2. When I was little, I used to think that the 3rd Wily Stage boss was impossible. I learned from my mistakes of countless 'game overs' but still lost. I eventually gave up on ever beating that game. But recently, I played that game and got to that boss. I beat it on my first try. All of my experiences from the different games I've played made that boss seem like it was nothing. So I think that it is possible to win, Bill Gates learned from his mistakes and made Microsoft, and now he's rich!  |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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there is only one problem with your theory, in life, you only get one life. ther is no retry, ther is no restart, there are no save points. if you screw up, your DONE! |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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I have to go with a simple explanation for believing in the afterlife. It is almost your point exactly nightmare. If you cant win the game then there is no point to living. It would be a very sad life if you spent the whole thing dreading the end.Having belief in something more than you can prove allows me to be free and happy in my life.I dont worry that if i were to be hit by a car tommorow that it would just be the end. How could you have any fun if that were the case. There are just too many coincidences in science and too many beutiful things in the world for there not to be a higher power, in my opinion. Who really knows until we die. But isnt it better to have hope?  |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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Then what your saying is that if i should live life as if there was an afterlife? what a load of bull! if i want to go to heaven (witch is impossible, by the way) i have to be PERFICT, but no one is perfict so were all screwed and going to hell anyway, there are 2 options, live a HAPPY life, or live a MISERABLE life and try to get into heaven.(witch is a VERY unhappy place!) I say, ALL OF EXISTENCE SUCKS!! if i could wish myself out of existance, i would!! as for hope, hope is a myth. its just an idea that relegion\society planted in our minds to make us think that things will happen if we want them to. witch is also a load of bull |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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by Chick-yasha
on 2005-07-07 18:44:57
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Who cares if you win or lose it's just denpense of how much fun you have playing the game. Example: I can go the fair w/a bunch of friends & spend $50 there on games & fun (thats ALOT for me)& come back w/only 2or3 tiny stuffies, ate a corn dog w/drink, & took home cotton candy or candy apple. I may have lose every game & come out on the short end but I had a fun w/my friends, so it was woorthy it & I think alot better then going by myself & coming back w/tons of huge stuffs & no one to share them w/or hang out all night w/. So in life it's not really important if you (think) you won or lose the game, but want you did w/& during your game of life. B/c every one has there own passion in life, & when you do your best you can w/your life & had fun along the way then your life was worth it. Life is short use the best of it doing things you want/like to do & make the most of your life the way YOU want to. & DON'T worry about waht others think you should do w/ your life, it's yours not theres! Live/dress/eat the way you want to, be your TRUE self not want "cool" people want you to be, B/c fadds change & time passes & those "cool" people will not matter in 10-20 years, so don't change yourself it's normally a waste of your life to live up to others expcetations. Yours is all that matters. (maby you shouldn't make the most of life if it involves death/pain/suffering of others) Thats my 2cents (long cents)
Never date a guy stranger than you. If so, make sure he's loaded.
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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by Angel of Darkness
on 2005-07-07 18:51:07
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well the way to win in the game to life is to learn lesons,have fun,and make sure barney is the loser!! most of you only have 1 life and that is to show you played poorly. I had many times to "die" but I know how to earn more lives and come out pointin and laughin at the thing that wanted me to lose.
people will destroy this beautiful world...
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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Well, why should you care if you win or not? Life is about having fun and maybe even making an impact on the world. If everyone just gave up we would all eventually die and be wiped out. It doesn't matter if you can't win because when you were living if you made a small change in our world you will be remembered. Maybe you're not remembered all over the world as a hero,but in the hearts of the people you changed you will be in their memory and as they grow old they will tell their children about you. I mean isn't that what most people want? To be remembered even after death? If so instead of wondering about whether or not life is even worth 'playing' go out into our world and try to help it because then you might finally be able to find something that makes life worth living.  |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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but how do you explain why people like ME should keep playing? i mean i have 5 friends, no siblings, my mom and dad dont care, no girlfriend, God hates me,and i have the worst luck in the world. I would LOVE to be able to change the world, and to be remembered, but the fact is that NO ONE cares. i mean seriously, am i the ONLY PERSON who feels this way? am i the only person that no one cares about? AM I THE ONLY PERSON WITH ABSOLUTLY NO REASON TO LIVE? |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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by humblemonkey
on 2005-07-08 10:35:26
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Well, now you are contradicting yourself, nightmare. If you are a realist, what "God" does or thinks is of no concern to you, right? Besides, you do have a girlfriend. :p There are lots of people in the world who feel like you do man, but many of them are put into vastly different situations. One could be living in a nice, quiet neighborhood in the US with very good living conditions. One could be living in Asia as a sex slave and put in the barest of living conditions. One could be living in South America in a sweatshop earning next to nothing with miserable living conditions. One could be the kid of a billionare. You get my point though, right? Of the several billions of people in the world, only a extremely small number are actually known around the world years after they die (Jesus Christ, Hannibal, Ceasar, Confusius). These people were put into a situation where with the right conditions and actions they were able to do something to affect many, many people's lives, good or bad. Regardless of what happens in an afterlife, people here will remember people that go out and do something. The number may be small, but you'll be one of the several billion people that are remembered by a small amount. Affecting this world is one of the things that people knows they can do with this life given to them. You said you have 5 friends, right? Those friends already know you, like you, and will remember you for the rest of their lives. Your memory is already etched in their mind. I remember a newspaper article about an elderly lady who was homeless around where I lived. She had nothing, but was the nicest person many people had ever met. She watered the plants and flowers around the city that didn't get any water. When she died recently, hundreds, maybe thousands, of people went to her funeral. Most homeless people don't even get a proper funeral. Um, anyway, you know what I'm saying, man. Rant end. :) |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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by sadame-chan
on 2005-07-08 12:39:34
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Forgive me, nightmare-san, but... is that a phase? I just had to ask. I just think you're a little confused. Like humblemonkey-san said, you're contradicting yourself. You say that living is just like playing a game. You live to play the game. And yet you say that you have no reason to live. But wasn't that your point? That the reason we live is to play life's game? You said that there are many rules on this game, like the rules of science, religion, society, and stuff like that. But when somebody mentions things concerning religion, you say that you're a realist, and only believe things proven by science. But how can that be? In a game, could you really progress just by following a fraction of the rules? Could you go into the "next level" without following all the steps? People say we don't know our goals. In all aspects, perhaps we truly don't. We don't know how the story ends, even though we might catch glimpses of it from time to time. We never know what our goal really is. It might be heaven, it might be hell, it might be Nirvana, it might be reincarnation or whatever. We only see glimpses of our goals from the things that we want. Hey, nobody wants to go to hell, right? That's why many people here have broached the subject about afterlife and heaven. It's what each player thinks he/she wants that he/she'll strive for, given that he/she's abiding by the rules. And by the time that player is working hard and making his playing time fruitful towards "the goal", that's where hope kicks in... because hope is having belief in something that isn't yet tangible. Anyway... I just thought I'd share a bit, sorry if it got too long. By the way, your signature, is that rhetorical, or a mocking question?  ��空����愛��人よ? Kono sora no dokoka itoshii hito yo? |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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im feel i must share something with you all, because you are partially responsible for making it happen. in 1 day my entire out look has changed. you see, last night i had an in depth theological conversation with someone very dear to me. she told me that God loves evryone, even if we might not realise it. so naturally, i just pushed the conversation aside because i figure that noone cares what happens to me. but then (actually, it was about an hour ago) i was playing Burnout 3, and i realised something. why was i playing it? i beet the thing into the ground. but why do i still play it? then it hit me, I play it to have fun. and i realised i was happy. i havent been happy in a while. I was soo happy, i started to cry because i missed how good it felt. NOW i understand what she was talking about! If you cannot win, Why play? I play for the enjoyment of the game. p.s. it appeares thet sadame-chan is correct, it probibly was just a phase. A phase that i am glad to be out of (for now) |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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This is the reason i go to Gendou. I am very happy for you Nightmare. And Sadame-Chan, even though i dont know you and I have only read some few paragrphs written by you, you have already earned a great deal of respect from me. I would have to say all of our insights and understandings make us definate winners in the game of life. |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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by sadame-chan
on 2005-07-09 10:46:31
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Josh-san, my most humble and sincerest thanks. Acceptance is something worth gaining, then what more of respect. Appreciated is too understated a word. =) nightmare-san, I'm so happy that you've finally come out of your phase. =D We should go out and celebrate. Sushi and udon... and ramen! Tempura and ter--mmm, yakiniku. ^___^ I hope you will enjoy your life more now that everything has been made clear. Kampai!!! ��空����愛��人よ? Kono sora no dokoka itoshii hito yo? |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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i wish i could, but i cannot. it appeares that i am not compleatly out of this phase yet, but im getting there, i say that because that very friend who told me thoes things, now hates me for a reason she will neither explain to me, nor can i understand. it appeares that i cannot catch a break, every time things start looking up, life catches me in a half-nelson and slams me back down, witch just hurts me more. but hey, it was pritty nice while it lasted... |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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by humblemonkey
on 2005-07-10 22:35:15
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Well, just give it time, man. Everyone goes through crappy times in their life. At least you can leave whats on your chest here, right? :) |
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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When people are depressed, they always says, "Why me, God?!" but when they're happy, did they say that? We all should be grateful of what God has given to us, maybe there are people that worse than us. When I think about it, I'm worse than nightmare. I just keep continuing this game of life but don't have a reason to do it. I feel so empty. Even when my grandma passed away, I can't cry (worse, I'm playing GameBoy at her funeral and laughing out loud). When I am with my friend and we're laughing out loud, I don't feel any happiness. This is the worst case of situation I think... But I never thought of death. My friend said I'm free-spirited, but I think I'm just an empty minded robot... And I'm glad I've known people like you guys. This forum is one huge family. BTW, nightmare, maybe your friend falls in love with you? It's just maybe lol... 
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Re: If you cannot win, why play?
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me and the world DO have alot in common, and we SHOULD thank God for all the good things. not fealing any happyness is horrible, but i think that the world's grandmother experience is NOT one of thoes depressed things. being like that at funerals is like a self defense mecanism. because if your mind wasn't ocupied with something else, youd probibly be so overwelmed with greaf that you probibly wouldnt funbction. but, yes, you people ARE becoming like my family, i LOVE it when my e-mail says i got a reply to formm 2866. kind makes me feel like "hey, a player in this crappy game actually wants to talk to me" or something. on the other hand, my friend REALLY hates me now all because i talked to one of her friends! now she wants to "kick my @$$" on wednesday when i see her. so you know what, im just going to satnd there and take it. after all, whats a little more punishment going to do, kill me? |