为什么我们喜欢玩游戏：游戏与生活的关系

Many people feel that playing games is just for relaxation, or to kill time.

Some people even think that playing games is wasting life and has no meaning at all.

Especially many parents, seeing their children play video games every day, will feel very angry and worried.

However, recently a philosopher proposed a completely different view.

He wrote a book about games, titled "Scores".

He says in the book that games are actually very important, as they can let us understand ourselves more clearly.

Through games, we can see how humans make choices, and how we face difficulties.

First, we need to understand what a game actually is.

A game is actually a very special activity where we voluntarily accept some difficulties.

In real life, we usually hope things are as simple as possible, and as convenient as possible.

For example, if you want to put a ball into a basket, the simplest method is to walk over and put it directly in.

However, in a basketball game, you cannot do that.

You must stand at a far distance, have people guarding you, and you must follow many rules.

This is the most special part of games: we deliberately create difficulties for ourselves.

Why do we want to do this?

This philosopher believes this is because we want to experience a process of "striving".

In games, the goal is very clear.

You need to win, you need to get a high score, you need to defeat monsters.

But in real life, our goals are often unclear.

We don't know what we should do, and don't know what kind of life is the best.

Problems in life are too complex and very hard to solve.

But in games, everything is simple and clear.

As long as you follow the rules and practice hard, you can see progress and get points.

This feeling of clarity makes us feel very comfortable and very satisfied.

Therefore, playing games allows us to temporarily leave the complex real world and enter a simple world.

This is not because we are lazy, but because we want this feeling of "being able to control everything".

This is the first key point this philosopher mentions: games let us experience freedom and control.

However, this book also discusses a more profound issue.

That is, current real life is becoming more and more like a game.

Everyone can think about our schools and work.

In schools, students care about exam scores and rankings.

In companies, employees care about performance figures and how much money they earn.

On social networks, we care about how many people like our posts and how many people follow us.

These things are actually all like "scores" in a game.

This philosopher reminds us that this is actually a very dangerous thing.

Why is it dangerous?

Because these numbers and scores, although looking clear and fair, are too simple.

They turn complex life into a simple number.

This is like if you only look at the map while walking, you might miss the scenery by the road.

The author gave this phenomenon a name, which we can call "value confusion".

It means that we care too much about that number, and instead forget the original meaning of things.

For example, the purpose of education is to learn knowledge and to become a better person.

This is a very complex and long-term process, which is hard to represent with a simple number.

But, because scores are so clear and easy to see, we only stare at the scores.

If a student gets a high score, we feel he learned well.

If he gets a low score, we feel he didn't learn well.

The final result is that students study only for exams, not for knowledge.

They might memorize answers, or even cheat, as long as they can get a high score.

In this way, the true purpose of education is forgotten.

Work is also the same situation.

If a doctor only cares about how many patients he sees every day, only caring about this number.

He might examine them very quickly and not listen carefully to the patients.

Because his goal has become "increasing the number", not "curing the patient".

This is the downside of turning life into a game.

Scores in games are fake, established for the sake of fun.

But values in real life are real and complex.

If we live life with a gaming attitude, only pursuing those simple numbers, we will lose many important things.

We will become only concerned with results, not the process.

We will become only concerned with winning, not whether we are doing the right thing.

That philosopher tells us that we should understand the difference between games and life.

In games, we can do anything to win, because it is just a game.

But in life, we need richer judgment.

We need to use our hearts to feel, rather than just using our eyes to look at numbers.

We need to know that many beautiful things cannot be calculated by scores.

For example, your feelings with friends, your passion for work, and your inner peace.

These things have no scores and no rankings, but they are the most important things in life.

So, when we play games, we can pursue scores to our heart's content and enjoy that simple happiness.

This can let us relax and make us feel powerful.

However, when we return to real life, we must remind ourselves.

Don't be trapped by those numbers, don't be trapped by others' evaluation standards.

Don't let life turn into a competition just for scoring points.

We must learn to accept the complexity of life and accept those unclear parts.

Because it is exactly these complexities and ambiguities that make our lives real and rich.

This is also the biggest difference between humans and machines.

Machines only recognize numbers and only know how to complete tasks most efficiently.

But humans have emotions, morals, and a pursuit of beauty.

So, next time when you see yourself being anxious for a certain number, you can stop and think.

Ask yourself: Am I living life, or am I playing a game?

Do I really care about this thing, or just that score?

By thinking about these questions, we might be able to regain control over our own lives.

This might be the principle that philosopher wanted to tell us.

Games are a good teacher; they teach us to strive and to follow rules.

But it is also a mirror, reminding us not to get lost in the world of numbers.

Understanding this, we can truly enjoy games while also living our lives well.

I hope everyone, in their busy lives, can also occasionally stop and think about what their goals actually are.

Don't let simple numbers replace your own complex judgment.

Keeping a clear mind to feel every real moment is more important than getting a high score.