Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by scyzoryk_xyz 1638 days ago
To a religious leader a few hundred years back, a 'game' is something totally different from what you and I know as a game. For instance: if you're leading men, and for some reason they're getting drunk and 'gaming' (hazard/dice/whatever) between each other, then that probably might be leading to real internal strife, conflict, violence, desperation etc. It would make sense in that reality, for a leader to subscribe and to propagate teachings/philosophies/doctrines which cut off that possibility.

It's not something I 'like' much either, but it's super interesting to think about why various things were 'banned' (or encouraged!) in different historical realities. These things weren't done by stupid people for stupid reasons.

The video/computer games we have today frequently serve as literature: a source of wisdom, means of companionship, educational simulations of reality. They're a powerful form of art/influence, and we're already seeing some authoritarian states ban or prohibit them.

1 comments

Video games nowadays are also really good at hacking people’s dopamine system. Trying to entice people to spend as much time and money as possible. The most important thing is self awareness. Know what a game is doing to you and decide if that is beneficial.
Exactly - it really matter who you are and how well you’re prepared.