"Radical" Ideas from Non-gamers

[LordSmerf]

Ron, thanks for getting us back on topic.

To answer your question i decided to split over to The Difference between Published Design and Actual Play? since i feared that i might draw us off topic again.

The short version is this:  I don't believe there is a signifigant difference between actual play and published design when we discuss theory because play has enormous influence on design and design has enormous influence on play.  I believe that this influence is great enough that for most discussions they can be considered one and the same.

Of course i may have misunderstood the thrust of your question.  It appears that i am not all that bright...

Thomas

[M. J. Young]

Of course i may have misunderstood the thrust of your question.  It appears that i am not all that bright...

I didn't think I should let this pass.

First, bright isn't always all it's cracked up to be. Some very bright people have some big holes in what they can see.

Second, I think everyone who is bright at some point has the experience of suddenly finding himself among other people who are bright. This is such a group--there are several people here with doctorates in various, and quite a few other graduate degrees (which while not a direct measure of intellect demonstrate that the degreed individual is of at least above average intelligence and has been taught quite a bit about how to think coherently). John Kim's is in physics; mine is in Law.

Maybe an analogy will help. I'm just about six feet tall. That's above average; most of the guys I know are five ten or shorter. Whenever I'm around someone who is between five eleven and six one, I feel like they're tall--because I'm not accustomed to having to lift my head level to look someone in the eye. Sure, there are plenty of people taller than I, but having been tall all my life I expect my peers to be short.

In the same way, if you've always been one of the smarter members of your peer group, when you find yourself in a group whose intellect is akin to your own you are suddenly challenged in ways you've not been before. You might be every bit as smart as anyone on this forum--you've just never been with people who could pace you like this.

I just say it because I grew up thinking I was just some average shmuck who didn't have the brains to do much of anything, only to discover after I was out of college that I really was smarter than most of the people I ever knew. This is a challenging group; don't give up, though, because eventually we usually do all figure out what everyone else is trying to say.

--M. J. Young

[LordSmerf]

Thanks for the encouragement.  I guess part of my problem is trying to play catch-up.  Often i fear (sometimes accurately) that whatever i'm thinking has already been discussed.  I don't like wasting people's time...  Truth be told i consider myself to be rather intelligent, and i spend most of my time with other people i consider to be intelligent.  I always enjoy meeting other intelligent people.  The problem i guess i have here is not one of intellegince, but rather one of experience.  Most of the posts i find most helpful are by people who have been doing this far longer than i have (in some cases for longer than i've been alive).

I'll get it eventually.  In the meantime please do call my on pointless melodrama, and if i make any foolish assertions let me know.

Thank you,

Thomas