Thoughts on competition
January 9, 2016 at 9:54 pm
(This post was last modified: January 9, 2016 at 9:54 pm by drfuzzy.)
A bunch of musings, flights of fancy, that invite your input!
I just finished watching a game where my team won. YAY! But ah . . . males will walk away to their celebrations, talking about how useless this player was, and how stupid those plays were, etc. Females are a bit more likely to say "aw, I feel for that guy". Do the guys ever stop to think that the other guys gave up their whole lives in training too? In order for someone to win, someone has to lose. It's all based in warfare, really. You either win or you die. The idea of spending time thinking of the dead, or of his family, is not relevant. And yes, competition, on this planet, has fueled nearly all of humanity's achievements. The pattern of "eat or be eaten" seems to be the basis of evolution on this planet. So guys will say that without competition, positive change wouldn't happen.
Hmm. Really? Do you think that competition is the norm for life on ALL planets?
If a lifeform from outside our solar system should arrive, will they congratulate us for vanquishing our enemies and getting to the point of travelling to Mars,
or will they condemn us for a history of killing each other? Would an advanced species, capable of travelling between solar systems, have evolved from extreme competition, or could they have evolved from something else: complete equality, a hive mind, etc., that abhorred the very concept of "winners and losers".
?? This is just a sample of what happens when I start wondering about things. But still . . . I would love to hear what folks think.
I just finished watching a game where my team won. YAY! But ah . . . males will walk away to their celebrations, talking about how useless this player was, and how stupid those plays were, etc. Females are a bit more likely to say "aw, I feel for that guy". Do the guys ever stop to think that the other guys gave up their whole lives in training too? In order for someone to win, someone has to lose. It's all based in warfare, really. You either win or you die. The idea of spending time thinking of the dead, or of his family, is not relevant. And yes, competition, on this planet, has fueled nearly all of humanity's achievements. The pattern of "eat or be eaten" seems to be the basis of evolution on this planet. So guys will say that without competition, positive change wouldn't happen.
Hmm. Really? Do you think that competition is the norm for life on ALL planets?
If a lifeform from outside our solar system should arrive, will they congratulate us for vanquishing our enemies and getting to the point of travelling to Mars,
or will they condemn us for a history of killing each other? Would an advanced species, capable of travelling between solar systems, have evolved from extreme competition, or could they have evolved from something else: complete equality, a hive mind, etc., that abhorred the very concept of "winners and losers".
?? This is just a sample of what happens when I start wondering about things. But still . . . I would love to hear what folks think.
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
