When I was in high school we did the muscial "The Roar of the Greasepaint the Smell of the Crowd" its a musical based on the "haves" (Sir) and the "have nots" (Cocky) and the story is about economic status in the UK in the 1960's. In the play Sir and Cocky are playing "the game of life" and Sir keeps switching the rules, as Cocky tries to find a job or woo a girl. Its a really interesting musical and it really highlights some of the problems with gamifying life. In the story there is a third character that beats Sir simply by ignoring the rules, which shifts the dynamic between Sir and Cocky. If you know the song "feeling good" and its many versions- its originally from this play.
I also wanted to add that I love your writing style, it has a great balance of feeling intimate, like a conversatoin, being informative, and I think we have a similar sense of humor! Really great article, I look forward to reading more of your work!
Great article Gunnar. I've long been a fan of the concept behind cellular automata and you've explained it really well here. I attended a leadership symposium recently, and one panel member who's an expert on complexity theories introduced to everyone the concept of a 'social thermostat', which - like a heating / cooling thermostat - is a critical but often subtly hidden device that signals to the rest of system whether action needs to be taken (wrote a bit more about it here: https://curiositymindset.substack.com/p/from-curiosity-to-action)
The suggested 'rules of life' you have remind me of that concept: "Married by 30" could be the social thermostat for example, that once triggered, causes many a hand to be wrung in vain.
I really like the social thermostat metaphor. Also, this: "Life is a work of art; despite mistakes along the way, despite events that are outside of our control, the tapestry that is life can still hold beauty." Hell, yeah!
Good points on the effectiveness of gamification. When people talking about escapism in video games, they're usually talking about ripped barbarians taking down ancient dragons, but honestly it's just nice to have clear goals with measurable progress where I can choose my own difficulty level.
Brilliant, Gunnar. On so many levels. My favorite stories are those that can articulate the invisible felt experience that I have yet to identify. And you did that here when you point out that an underlying premise of gamification doesn’t fit as neatly into the wicked problem of life as the royal They want us to think. Well done, my friend.
When I was in high school we did the muscial "The Roar of the Greasepaint the Smell of the Crowd" its a musical based on the "haves" (Sir) and the "have nots" (Cocky) and the story is about economic status in the UK in the 1960's. In the play Sir and Cocky are playing "the game of life" and Sir keeps switching the rules, as Cocky tries to find a job or woo a girl. Its a really interesting musical and it really highlights some of the problems with gamifying life. In the story there is a third character that beats Sir simply by ignoring the rules, which shifts the dynamic between Sir and Cocky. If you know the song "feeling good" and its many versions- its originally from this play.
I also wanted to add that I love your writing style, it has a great balance of feeling intimate, like a conversatoin, being informative, and I think we have a similar sense of humor! Really great article, I look forward to reading more of your work!
Thanks so much, Shruti! Your comments are always an absolute joy.
I don't know the play, so I have to go check it out now.
Great article Gunnar. I've long been a fan of the concept behind cellular automata and you've explained it really well here. I attended a leadership symposium recently, and one panel member who's an expert on complexity theories introduced to everyone the concept of a 'social thermostat', which - like a heating / cooling thermostat - is a critical but often subtly hidden device that signals to the rest of system whether action needs to be taken (wrote a bit more about it here: https://curiositymindset.substack.com/p/from-curiosity-to-action)
The suggested 'rules of life' you have remind me of that concept: "Married by 30" could be the social thermostat for example, that once triggered, causes many a hand to be wrung in vain.
Thanks, Scott!
I really like the social thermostat metaphor. Also, this: "Life is a work of art; despite mistakes along the way, despite events that are outside of our control, the tapestry that is life can still hold beauty." Hell, yeah!
Good points on the effectiveness of gamification. When people talking about escapism in video games, they're usually talking about ripped barbarians taking down ancient dragons, but honestly it's just nice to have clear goals with measurable progress where I can choose my own difficulty level.
Thanks, J. There’s definitely an appealing clarity/simplicity to it.
That was a very refreshing and worthwhile essay Gunnar! Thank you! 👏👏 I will restack it so others can find it.
By way of continuing the conversation, here is my take on the adaptive value of "games":
https://medium.com/@bairdbrightman/playing-games-7dd5e7cb9399
Thanks, Baird; I appreciate it. (That’s a good companion piece for this one!)
Brilliant, Gunnar. On so many levels. My favorite stories are those that can articulate the invisible felt experience that I have yet to identify. And you did that here when you point out that an underlying premise of gamification doesn’t fit as neatly into the wicked problem of life as the royal They want us to think. Well done, my friend.
Thank you so much, Danielle.