Hacker News Reader

Comment by AlisdairO | Hacker News Reader

One could take that perspective about most forms of entertainment.

Yes but entertainment per se is not bad - if you don't devote your life to it. Nothing against playing one or two rounds SC2 but becoming a "pro player" is so disgustingly wasteful. Imagine what you could create with all the time devoted to gaming instead.

Would you say the same about professional athletes or chess players?

Yes, what they do is not creative at all. Their contribution to the progress humanity is 0.

So, "Do what you love.. as long as it's programming." (or science, etc)

Not that I entirely disagree with you, but it's not like spending time building some (website/social network/photo app/coupon newsletter/mobile game/etc) contributes that much more to humanity either. Glass houses and all.

I presume by "not creative" you do not mean "don't create anything". Can you explain what you do actually mean?

Now I'm really curious what you do for a living/what you'd consider your own contribution to progress for humanity?

I've to admit that I don't think that I can claim to have made some significant improvements for all of humanity so far..

Hah, "Contribution to the progress of humanity". As if that's some kind of ultimate goal that everyone has to strive for.

It's all a matter of perspective. Nearly everyone has a hobby that they care about to an unusual extent. Some people go to the gym for 6 hours a day, Some people buy $30k in parts for their $4000 used Honda Civic, some people go backpacking across Europe for an entire summer, some people care so much that they literally cry whenever their local sports team loses(or wins), and some people love videogames.

Every person on the planet needs to be entertained, and since there is someone out there who does make significant contributions to society that does like Starcraft enough to watch a documentary about a popular team, it must have some inherent amount of worth.

Being an entertainer isn't the same thing as curing cancer or engineering a cease-fire between warring nations, but it doesn't have to be.

would you say the same to football, hockey or soccer players?

Yes.

Dude, that kind of thinking leads you down to 7 Pounds.

well then kudos to you for being consistent :)

I suppose you could argue that football etc provide exercise and might encourage others to take up a healthier lifestyle by exercising too.

Whereas pro starcraft almost seems to promote the opposite.

You could say the same about programming. There are fat football players and fit Starcraft players. Exercise isn't just good for the body, it's good for the mind. The world's best Starcraft 2 player, LG-IMMvp, works out on a regular basis because it helps keep his mind agile. So do many other pros and aspiring pros.

True, but programming has (or should have) a useful end product that is seen as "compensation" for spending all those hours cooped up inside whereas a "sport" activity doesn't really create anything.

I'm sure that some SC players do work out, but for every player who does I imagine there are hundreds where their time playing video games eats into time that they may have otherwise spent exercising.

I'm not sure why you would take that attitude towards pro playing/sportsmen/whatever - if you accept that entertainment is good (in moderation), surely you accept that providing that entertainment is a worthwhile activity too?

I have a stereotypically productive job, and I'm good at it (and enjoy it). Nothing spectacular, but you probably wouldn't sneer at it either. The reality is that I almost certainly bring less useful value to people's lives than a really good quality entertainer.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com