I recently read an article where the author was attempting to analyze the question, “What is Truth?” and then draw a comparison to truth in design, specifically web design. While I think art and design have nothing to do with truth, much less web design having anything to do with truth, I have decided to tackle a similar comparison. The difference is, I will draw conclusions which I hope will display just how different the two subjects are. “What is truth?” Pontius Pilate asked this question almost 2000 years ago. At the time, he had no inkling of the infamy which was to follow these words through the millennia. He asked the question as a jaded cynic—he had no interest in knowing the truth. In fact, his question is of a rhetorical nature, implying simply that there is no truth. And yet, in asking this question he hit the very crux of the […]
Life
Stuff about life
Maslow’s Needs and Gaming
What does it mean to achieve something? Is it good enough to feel like you achieve, when you really don’t? Does the modern world provide a false sense of achievement too often, to the point at which people don’t actually do anything? Image generated using this neat tool. It is hard not to notice the impact of computers and video games on the overall productivity of oneself. For me, being a little bit obsessive, features highlighted by the above are just the type of thing to deter me from being more productive. I do not, however, blame them in any way for my lack of productivity. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it can be seen that video games in many ways fulfill a good amount of these needs. MMORPG’s it has been seen, fulfill almost all of them. Let us start outside the realm of massively online multiplayer games. Let […]
Anti-Social Society
I can easily admit to people that I am an asshole. I am not being sardonic either, I am a bona-fide asshole. I can easily be described as someone who expects more of others then I am willing to do myself. I hold people to a higher standard then I have a right to hold them to. I am extremely selfish, and I’m definitely a misanthrope. I judge everyone around me as if I have a right to judge them. Why? I have no idea. Maybe I feel I am entitled in some way, or I feel superior to those around me. Maybe it is just a convenient way of pushing people away or avoiding human contact as a consequence of being particularly anti-social. While I don’t feel I have any social anxieties, at least from a clinical sense, I definitely hate socializing. I hate every aspect of social behavior, everything right […]
The Sentence
As I am sure none of you know, I had a minor in college. While I graduated with a Major in Computer Engineering, my official minor was philosophy. A pretty odd combination, I know. I have always been a thinker, and I very much enjoy reading the thoughts of others. As such, I read a lot. When I say I read a lot, though, I am sort of cheating. I should say, I read a lot of stuff, online. Recently though, I have been trying to make a conscious effort to read more books. A recent blog article I read, which was actually about XML, made mention of a book. It didn’t say anything really about the book, and it didn’t really suggest that I should read the book, but I decided to pick it up anyhow. Seemed like as good a place to start as any. The book is […]
Go play a real guitar…
I have thought about this subject a lot. When playing a game like Guitar Hero or Rockband, people always say “Why don’t you just play a real instrument?” This question I feel is easy to answer, as I am going to try to do here. First and foremost, I would like clarify the subject of gaming as a whole, for me, the simplest way to do that is to compare it to other things which EVERYONE does: Gaming is: A waste of time. Watching TV is: A waste of time. Watching Movies is: A waste of time. Sitting around drinking beer is: A waste of time. Reading Magazines is: A waste of time. Now that we have that out of way, when people look at me as an adult gamer, they find it hard to understand why I play games. It is such a waste of time after all, right. However, if I […]