Ask HN: Not computer gaming makes me an outlier? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Not computer gaming makes me an outlier?

3 points_wk479 comments

I never really liked to play computer games.

When I was introduced to computers at the age of 14 at high school under MS-DOS, we kids were made to play "Hangman" which I never liked. Then at the age of 15 we graduated to "Pac-man" which I liked somewhat, but not enough to want to continue engaging with it like the rest of the kids.

As an adult after college when I migrated to UNIX, I was introduced to "XSoldier" and kind-a liked it, but again, not enough to get hooked beyond a week of regular play.

I have never played any of the console-based games and have never even touched a gamepad.

Does all of the above make me an outlier? Or, is it normal?

View on HN

You're not a lonely outlier but depending on age you may be in a smaller cohort, yes. Don't worry about it.

I can think of worse ground to stand on btw. A similar mood takes my partner who has never read SF and neither of us have seen Game of Thrones, or the Queen, or watch skandi crime or love Island or dancing with the stars or the myriad of reality TV.

I'm not in your cohort because I was raised on zork and before that tic tac toe on a teletype in the 60s and 70s.

Yes, I think you're an outlier. But, so what? I don't like coffee, so I'm also an outlier. The IT Crowd had several scenes about how the male IT staff didn't like football, including trying to fake it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msN7HNncHik .

(Related, the sketch comedy troupe It's A Southern Thing, had a video of someone who lived in the US South and didn't like American football: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v08kE5KdpI )

Marathon runners are outliers. People who don't want smart phones are outliers. People who have eaten lutefisk are outliers. People who don't drink alcohol at all are outliers. People who attend Wednesday evening prayer service are outliers. People who don't eat meat are outliers. Readers of romance novels are outliers. If people who drive stick aren't outliers now, they will be within the next few decades.

The list of people at least three times the standard deviation from common practice goes on and on.

I'm sure everyone is an outlier somehow.

> I'm sure everyone is an outlier somehow.

Measure on enough dimensions, and it is exceedingly likely that everyone is an outlier. (the volume of the "surface shell" grows rapidly compared to that of the "interior", otherwise known as the Curse of Dimensionality)

I played quite a lot of league of legends (probably 10k games), but I stopped playing all compute games in the last two years.

Competitive games in general feel like STEM olympiads: you have an objective ranking, you have challenges, you have competitition. You deal with hard problems related to performance: how to keep improving? Which topics are hard for me?

It was crazily important for my personal development, but as with olympiads, eventually there isn't a lot of new things to learn, at least things that you will carry with you for life.

> I never really liked to play computer games.

Don't make that your identity.

See, everything's relative. Considering the world's population, the fact that you're asking in English, and not Chinese should be considered an outlier and not normal. The question is, what are the ramifications for you? Suppose we say yes, this makes you an outlier. Then What? How about if we say no, you're normal. Then what? What meaningful pronouncements upon yourself will you then decree you must adhere to?

You gain nothing by having never played a console-based game, so try one. Seek out a gamepad to touch. If you try it and don't like it, then it's not for you, but if you try it and do like it, then that's great! You can use it as a source for joy in your life.

Adopt a growth mindset.

https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/growth-mindset-vs-fixed-min...

There are more English speakers than Chinese speakers. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_total_num... .

> You gain nothing by having never played a console-based game, so try one.

Your advice does not consider the opportunity cost.

Suppose the OP has a to-learn list including, from highest to lowest priority: 1. play the harmonica, 2. cross-stitch, 3. speak Swahili, and (far behind), 4. play console-based games.

Previous experience suggests #4 will likely not be enjoyable.

Then why spend the time on growing #4 when the other forms of growth are more likely to provide joy in life?

It isn't possible to do everything. Prioritize what seems best for you.

Either you misunderstand what outlier means, or you really underestimate how many people there are in the world and how different they are from each other to think that not playing video games makes you an outlier.

In a similar position. In a recent stressful situation I needed distraction and dug out what I had. Happily playing Tomb Raider 2 from CD on an old Windows machine!

As long as you're happy with your hobbies, who cares?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com