January 10, 2002
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The Infinite Game -
Have you ever thought about what kind of game you play? I read a book last summer that at first was just mildly entertaining, but I find that I'm thinking about it more and more and actually applying some of the principles it discusses. Scary Monsters! I may have actually learned something.
The book is Finite and Infinite Games by James Carse. I have always like the metaphor of life as a game, so when I saw this book in the philosophy section of my library I picked it up. There are a lot of ideas expressed in the form of very brief essays. (Some only a few paragraphs) But they all come down to what kind of game do we choose to play.
If we play to win, we are engaged in a finite game. As soon as there is a winner or a loser, the game is over. The goal of an infinite game is to continue the play.
When I first read this little book I thought it was a neat source for those inspirational quotes that crop up everywhere. But as time goes by I'm evaluating a lot of my life decisions based on this very simple idea. Will this option end the game?
I have a lot more fun when I play to continue the game. That is reason enough to adopt more of this philosphy.
Comments (4)
I'll have to take a look at that one. Sounds interesting. Congrats on the nomination!
I'll have to take a look at that, too. Being in the education system, I'm constantly trying to teach students how to play the game--within any system there is the infrastructure that parallels the game, so I try to tell them to look at it that way.
Now, that being said, I don't like the analogy of "the game" for my life. To me, life is a journey, not a destination. The game idea implies that I must get to some destination faster, else I will not win, and suffer the consequences. I'm trying to teach myself that this journey that is my life can only benefit me if I realize that I'm not racing to get somewhere.
Nice blog, momi.
Interesting points made there! You learn as you go in life. Good thing for us or we'd be condemned to making the same mistakes over and over and over. Great blog!
I know something else about you that is truly infinite
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