Interesting... she is absurdly Californian, and pretty amusing, but I have to admit, she makes a pretty good point. We do spend our lives worrying about all sorts of things that don't matter in the great scheme of things, and while I still don't necessarily think games are the most productive way of spending our time, they are a hell of a lot better than the stream of rubbish spewed from corporate America and the major media, which serve to bombard us with capitalistic dogma and mindless rhetoric about how we should spend our days. We spend so much time maintaining our system that most of us never consider whether or not our system should even exist- is it making us happier and more fulfilled? Is the price of our current civilization such that most of us spend only a tiny fraction of our lives truly happy?
Honestly, we can't lead happy, fulfilled lives if we live in a constant financial struggle and do nothing but get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, and go to sleep just to do it all over again. What's really painful to know is how unnecessary all of this stress, anguish, suffering, and pathetic posturing is. We have the basic technology and ideas necessary to build a society where we all live in relative affluence working only a few hours each week, but we're so stuck with the status quo, so imprisoned in this framework of modern society, that the few people who do think outside the box can't get anyone else to even listen, let alone act.
Anyway, concerning your new "life game", I have to admit I found it a little silly at first, but if it makes you feel accomplished, by all means, go for it. That's the sort of thing that could never work for me- it's too structured. I really like the idea of turning real life into a game though. Our problem solving ability in games is a lot healthier than it is in modern society.
Well, it's time for me to get to sleep, something I should have done 3 hours ago.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-28 06:51 am (UTC)From:Honestly, we can't lead happy, fulfilled lives if we live in a constant financial struggle and do nothing but get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, and go to sleep just to do it all over again. What's really painful to know is how unnecessary all of this stress, anguish, suffering, and pathetic posturing is. We have the basic technology and ideas necessary to build a society where we all live in relative affluence working only a few hours each week, but we're so stuck with the status quo, so imprisoned in this framework of modern society, that the few people who do think outside the box can't get anyone else to even listen, let alone act.
Anyway, concerning your new "life game", I have to admit I found it a little silly at first, but if it makes you feel accomplished, by all means, go for it. That's the sort of thing that could never work for me- it's too structured. I really like the idea of turning real life into a game though. Our problem solving ability in games is a lot healthier than it is in modern society.
Well, it's time for me to get to sleep, something I should have done 3 hours ago.