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Saturday 14 January 2012
Friday 6 January 2012
Mulling on life, and why it is so much like gaming or hiking
I remember a game from childhood, not that it was a particular favorite of mine. It involved many tiles set up in a chessboard sort of way. Somewhere on one tile would be your treasure that you had to reach, your pawn in the game would be place somewhere in a corner. Now that doesn't seem to difficult does it? You just hop from tile to tile until you reach the treasure, the number of hops are determined by throwing a dice. But the special part was that each tile had an open path on it, and walls on some sides. These tiles would then make an inscrutable labyrinth. Each time it was your turn you can either hop the number of tiles you've gotten by rolling the dice OR you could push one line of tiles one tile further. This means you would pick up one additional tile, and move a whole row or column until one tile falls out of the chessboard on the other side.
I never really got the point of this game, so much is dependent on luck, and so little on planning. For instance, if you have a nasty player who always blocks your way, you're bound to not get anywhere and always stand in front of a wall. So is it just luck? Or just going as far as you can see the path and then hoping for the best, that either you can make the way suddenly appear, or fate (aka the other player) helps you out? Sometimes I have a suspicion that this is how life works. Additionally though I would add another gaming feature, let's say from Age of Mythology. When you go out exploring there, in a new world, you obviously cannot see all the world, that would be too easy. No, instead there is a fog that covers most of the landscape, you can only see the paths that you've already walked and a little bit around those. Isn't that similar to how our life is? We have an idea where we want to be, but we have no idea how to get there. In between there are just walls and crooked paths over which lays a thick fog that makes it impossible to choose the "best" way. There is no such things as the best way from that point of view, only afterwards could it be possible to say if that particular path was short or long indeed.
So what do we do in this world of unknowns? I've always thought that planning is the best preparation, but what to do in such a world where all tiles are moving and your well laid out plan suddenly is worth nothing because someone (or fate, if you want) destroys your carefully designed path? You could despair and say, what's the point then? Why not set sail and just do whatever? For some reason though I don't think it is so easy. It is still possible, and people seem to be able to do so, to spy out the unknown lands and to make opportunities. I'm not talking about catching the opportunity, I've always believed that you always have to be ready so that you can take the opportunity when it presents itself and make the best out of it. No, I'm talking about people who seem to sail the unknown waters seemingly unbothered by all the pit falls. How can you make opportunities in such a landscape? Or do you just get lucky?
Another memory is when I climbed the Mount Fuji in Japan. It is the highest mountain in Japan (3776 m) mostly consisting of volcanic rocks. It is a hike I would recommend to anyone who likes nature, and hiking in particular. It also makes you think. For example each time you take three steps to get closer to the top, you slide back two. Due to the volcanic rocks the whole mountain just starts moving underneath your feet. Quite an annoying thing because you're not really moving forward and upward. So it was a test to patience. But what struck me more was that every time you would look upward towards the top, I would think "I'm so close, I can see the top!". But then I would walk for ages, and still not be any closer to the top. Granted, I'd made it to another level, but there was always more to come...
I never really got the point of this game, so much is dependent on luck, and so little on planning. For instance, if you have a nasty player who always blocks your way, you're bound to not get anywhere and always stand in front of a wall. So is it just luck? Or just going as far as you can see the path and then hoping for the best, that either you can make the way suddenly appear, or fate (aka the other player) helps you out? Sometimes I have a suspicion that this is how life works. Additionally though I would add another gaming feature, let's say from Age of Mythology. When you go out exploring there, in a new world, you obviously cannot see all the world, that would be too easy. No, instead there is a fog that covers most of the landscape, you can only see the paths that you've already walked and a little bit around those. Isn't that similar to how our life is? We have an idea where we want to be, but we have no idea how to get there. In between there are just walls and crooked paths over which lays a thick fog that makes it impossible to choose the "best" way. There is no such things as the best way from that point of view, only afterwards could it be possible to say if that particular path was short or long indeed.
So what do we do in this world of unknowns? I've always thought that planning is the best preparation, but what to do in such a world where all tiles are moving and your well laid out plan suddenly is worth nothing because someone (or fate, if you want) destroys your carefully designed path? You could despair and say, what's the point then? Why not set sail and just do whatever? For some reason though I don't think it is so easy. It is still possible, and people seem to be able to do so, to spy out the unknown lands and to make opportunities. I'm not talking about catching the opportunity, I've always believed that you always have to be ready so that you can take the opportunity when it presents itself and make the best out of it. No, I'm talking about people who seem to sail the unknown waters seemingly unbothered by all the pit falls. How can you make opportunities in such a landscape? Or do you just get lucky?
Another memory is when I climbed the Mount Fuji in Japan. It is the highest mountain in Japan (3776 m) mostly consisting of volcanic rocks. It is a hike I would recommend to anyone who likes nature, and hiking in particular. It also makes you think. For example each time you take three steps to get closer to the top, you slide back two. Due to the volcanic rocks the whole mountain just starts moving underneath your feet. Quite an annoying thing because you're not really moving forward and upward. So it was a test to patience. But what struck me more was that every time you would look upward towards the top, I would think "I'm so close, I can see the top!". But then I would walk for ages, and still not be any closer to the top. Granted, I'd made it to another level, but there was always more to come...
Wednesday 28 December 2011
How do you start a blog? That's probably the hardest part. There should be some sort of "Hello World", something Earth shaking and meaningful. But as soon as you post that, you think of something else and change your mind (that's at least what happens to me all the time). So instead here we go with a very old YouTube video of mine. It's from 2008, and you might enjoy it. Happy puzzling over the puzzles of the world.
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