Competition
Apr. 30th, 2012 04:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
processingofHumans should strive for achievement, but not compete with one another.
The fact of the matter is, we all start out on VERY unequal footing. Our life choices affect us immensely, even when we're young and don't know what we're doing. That six-year-old who dislikes reading? Yeah, he potentially messed up the optimal outcome of his adult life. And we can't blame him. That's just what happened.
Not to mention environment, and of course predisposition from birth.
I'm good at writing. I work at it like fuck, I analyze books, movies, TV shows, and comics in minute detail, and I spend time on it, but that doesn't mean that my advantage over the other writers my age is fair. Something, whether it's something in my brain or a life experience, gave me this capacity, this drive. And because I have no clone (who lived the same life), other people and I aren't on equal footing.
This goes for EVERYTHING. Sports, acting, science... nothing is fair.
So when something is accomplished, yes, it's a great thing. The person worked hard on their achievement and should be commended. But you CAN'T compare ANYTHING anyone does with the accomplishments of others, because it isn't fair. There is no way it CAN be fair. And that's okay, really, but we need to stop praising people for WINNING competitions.
Not necessarily stop having them, because beating other people is a good driving force, but we need to understand that if someone wins, that's because of the incredibly different lives and brains of the competitors.
Actually, maybe we can never tell people this, or at least never come to accept it in our culture. If we did, would we lose our motivation? Would people even believe this? Would it matter? The whole "making decisions, then coming up with evidence to support the ready-made decision" thing comes to mind. There's no way possible to convince the world that everything we know is a lie.
Heck, I'm the most competitive person I know. And the fact that I AM that way is already a disadvantage to everyone I compete against -- but I digress.
Anyway, I'm a hypocrite proposing a nonsense view of the world. Is this similar to nihilism? I should go look that up.
In summary, everything we know is a lie, there is no such thing as fair -- or even CLOSE to fair -- competition, and we will never be able to fully alter our zeitgeists. :)
The fact of the matter is, we all start out on VERY unequal footing. Our life choices affect us immensely, even when we're young and don't know what we're doing. That six-year-old who dislikes reading? Yeah, he potentially messed up the optimal outcome of his adult life. And we can't blame him. That's just what happened.
Not to mention environment, and of course predisposition from birth.
I'm good at writing. I work at it like fuck, I analyze books, movies, TV shows, and comics in minute detail, and I spend time on it, but that doesn't mean that my advantage over the other writers my age is fair. Something, whether it's something in my brain or a life experience, gave me this capacity, this drive. And because I have no clone (who lived the same life), other people and I aren't on equal footing.
This goes for EVERYTHING. Sports, acting, science... nothing is fair.
So when something is accomplished, yes, it's a great thing. The person worked hard on their achievement and should be commended. But you CAN'T compare ANYTHING anyone does with the accomplishments of others, because it isn't fair. There is no way it CAN be fair. And that's okay, really, but we need to stop praising people for WINNING competitions.
Not necessarily stop having them, because beating other people is a good driving force, but we need to understand that if someone wins, that's because of the incredibly different lives and brains of the competitors.
Actually, maybe we can never tell people this, or at least never come to accept it in our culture. If we did, would we lose our motivation? Would people even believe this? Would it matter? The whole "making decisions, then coming up with evidence to support the ready-made decision" thing comes to mind. There's no way possible to convince the world that everything we know is a lie.
Heck, I'm the most competitive person I know. And the fact that I AM that way is already a disadvantage to everyone I compete against -- but I digress.
Anyway, I'm a hypocrite proposing a nonsense view of the world. Is this similar to nihilism? I should go look that up.
In summary, everything we know is a lie, there is no such thing as fair -- or even CLOSE to fair -- competition, and we will never be able to fully alter our zeitgeists. :)
