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Forgive me up front if this becomes rambling. I'm thinking this through as I write.
Cheaters show up in every aspect of our lives. Lance Armstrong won several Tour duhs by cheating. Made him a lot of money--until he got caught. Lot of baseball players cheat by taking steroids. Suddenly, they're 40 pounds heavier and able to knock the ball out of the park. Brings them fame and money.
And ignominy.
When they're caught.
People cheat to gain something. We fudge our taxes, ignore speed limits, exult when a ref's horrendous call benefits our team. All for a little gain.
Decades ago, I had an acquaintence named Todd who used to play checkers with a ten year old who was physcially and mentally handicapped. Todd showed him no mercy. Beat him badly over and over and over.
And was filled with joy and triumph with each win.
We just shook our heads, saddened/disgusted that Todd was such a pathetic loser that he felt pleasure beating a handicapped child. Todd was even a pretty bright guy.
But, what was wrong with Todd?
Why?
When my wife first started playing this game, I noticed that "unbeatable" always found all the words.
Always.
"He's cheating," I told her.
"How do you know?"
Statistical probablity.
The red flag we all recognize when some bot plays the game is perfection. Some players are quite capable of getting a perfect score on some game some time. It's a Holy Grail. A perfect game. Not impossible.
But not repetitively probable.
You can flip a coin and get 5 heads in a row. Or throw several 7's in a row with a pair of dice. But to do it over and over and over? Statistical probablity points a nasty finger and declares, "cheater!"
The question is what do you gain by flipping coins or throwing dice? Money?
Certainly not prestige.
Especially if you're caught. Then it's just shame.
Except cheaters really tend not to feel shame. Shame requires a sense of right and wrong. And cheaters don't really see what's wrong with cheating. Axiomatic.
So, I'm sitting here wondering what someone gains cheating at Wordtwist.
A gold trophy?
After getting a few, I'm not sure what value they have. I tried to give them away the last two months. Didn't want them at all. I only wanted to practice and improve my game.
Does someone gain recognition by cheating? Recognition by whom? Will any of us ever meet in our real lives? Will we ever be able to brag at Thanksgiving that we scored 600 points playing this game? Or finally beat Megaword?
"Megaword? Hmph. Could you pass the gravy. And a couple of biscuits."
I'm just puzzled. If you have to cheat to win, what have you accomplished? What do you get?
The same thing as Todd?
Honesty is on every list that defines human character and morals at its best. An honest person doesn't want to win by cheating. The win would just be a lie. A deception.
But, that may be the point for a cheater. Cheating is its own reward. Getting something dishonestly is part of the reward. You've pulled a fast one on the morons trying to beat you. You're so much better than them. You beat them, and they didn't suspect a thing. Shows how stupid they are. How superior you are.
Todd.
Poor Todd. Such low self esteem. Such a sad little man. Pathetic in his empty life. But, so glorious in his triumph over a handicapped child.
The flaw with bots has been perfection.
The solution for not getting caught as a cheater in Wordtwist is, oddly, imperfection. Run a program that doesn't get every word. One that beats the records of previous players by a random amount, then stops.
Of course, doing this, you won't get a record with every game. You'll run into perfect games played by bots. Or you'll run into your own games. (You can't multiply a record by beating your old score. One record per game, even if you played it ten times and beat your previous best each time.) And, with all the excellent longest/best players, even a bot can't beat them. If lalatan has already found the best and longest words on a game, tough luck bots. The bot can only tie but not be recognized.
All I can say if we have a cheater in our midst:
take all of my records. They're absolutely meaningless in my day to day life. If I could transfer all those 600 + games into your stats I'd gladly do it. They have no current value.
Having them was just a moment that proved all the hard work, practice and study were paying off. Those moments passed. the dompamine wore off. New moments ahead. Moments made better by study, hard work and practice.
Nothing accomplished here will pay one penny toward either the electric bill or next ice cream scoop.
Todd may have been pathetic. But those hollow victories sure meant a lot to him.
I guess, whatever gets one through the day.
If cheating is the only available path to finding self worth, who am I to take that away? Especially here in Wordtwistville. Where all is illusion. With nothing here that matters at the holiday table.
Pass the gravy. And the biscuits.
People find self worth in worse ways. Cults are filled with the search for self worth. For value. Guru Flabbybelly will show you the path to personal glory.
That the belief is built upon lies has never stopped a human from beleiving. Regardless of how ridiculous that belief may be.
If believing that cheating is the path to self worth, have at it.
After all, is it really cheating if all you're doing is showing all the low lifes how superior you are? Your superiority is the ultimate truth. Truth cannot be a lie. Therefore, nothing you do is actually cheating. You're merely bringing enlightenment. Bringing truth.
Todd might not understand why anyone cares.
But he could sure identify with that glorious sense of selfworth obtained by winning.
For the rest of us...
could we have a slice of that apple cobbler?
Cheaters show up in every aspect of our lives. Lance Armstrong won several Tour duhs by cheating. Made him a lot of money--until he got caught. Lot of baseball players cheat by taking steroids. Suddenly, they're 40 pounds heavier and able to knock the ball out of the park. Brings them fame and money.
And ignominy.
When they're caught.
People cheat to gain something. We fudge our taxes, ignore speed limits, exult when a ref's horrendous call benefits our team. All for a little gain.
Decades ago, I had an acquaintence named Todd who used to play checkers with a ten year old who was physcially and mentally handicapped. Todd showed him no mercy. Beat him badly over and over and over.
And was filled with joy and triumph with each win.
We just shook our heads, saddened/disgusted that Todd was such a pathetic loser that he felt pleasure beating a handicapped child. Todd was even a pretty bright guy.
But, what was wrong with Todd?
Why?
When my wife first started playing this game, I noticed that "unbeatable" always found all the words.
Always.
"He's cheating," I told her.
"How do you know?"
Statistical probablity.
The red flag we all recognize when some bot plays the game is perfection. Some players are quite capable of getting a perfect score on some game some time. It's a Holy Grail. A perfect game. Not impossible.
But not repetitively probable.
You can flip a coin and get 5 heads in a row. Or throw several 7's in a row with a pair of dice. But to do it over and over and over? Statistical probablity points a nasty finger and declares, "cheater!"
The question is what do you gain by flipping coins or throwing dice? Money?
Certainly not prestige.
Especially if you're caught. Then it's just shame.
Except cheaters really tend not to feel shame. Shame requires a sense of right and wrong. And cheaters don't really see what's wrong with cheating. Axiomatic.
So, I'm sitting here wondering what someone gains cheating at Wordtwist.
A gold trophy?
After getting a few, I'm not sure what value they have. I tried to give them away the last two months. Didn't want them at all. I only wanted to practice and improve my game.
Does someone gain recognition by cheating? Recognition by whom? Will any of us ever meet in our real lives? Will we ever be able to brag at Thanksgiving that we scored 600 points playing this game? Or finally beat Megaword?
"Megaword? Hmph. Could you pass the gravy. And a couple of biscuits."
I'm just puzzled. If you have to cheat to win, what have you accomplished? What do you get?
The same thing as Todd?
Honesty is on every list that defines human character and morals at its best. An honest person doesn't want to win by cheating. The win would just be a lie. A deception.
But, that may be the point for a cheater. Cheating is its own reward. Getting something dishonestly is part of the reward. You've pulled a fast one on the morons trying to beat you. You're so much better than them. You beat them, and they didn't suspect a thing. Shows how stupid they are. How superior you are.
Todd.
Poor Todd. Such low self esteem. Such a sad little man. Pathetic in his empty life. But, so glorious in his triumph over a handicapped child.
The flaw with bots has been perfection.
The solution for not getting caught as a cheater in Wordtwist is, oddly, imperfection. Run a program that doesn't get every word. One that beats the records of previous players by a random amount, then stops.
Of course, doing this, you won't get a record with every game. You'll run into perfect games played by bots. Or you'll run into your own games. (You can't multiply a record by beating your old score. One record per game, even if you played it ten times and beat your previous best each time.) And, with all the excellent longest/best players, even a bot can't beat them. If lalatan has already found the best and longest words on a game, tough luck bots. The bot can only tie but not be recognized.
All I can say if we have a cheater in our midst:
take all of my records. They're absolutely meaningless in my day to day life. If I could transfer all those 600 + games into your stats I'd gladly do it. They have no current value.
Having them was just a moment that proved all the hard work, practice and study were paying off. Those moments passed. the dompamine wore off. New moments ahead. Moments made better by study, hard work and practice.
Nothing accomplished here will pay one penny toward either the electric bill or next ice cream scoop.
Todd may have been pathetic. But those hollow victories sure meant a lot to him.
I guess, whatever gets one through the day.
If cheating is the only available path to finding self worth, who am I to take that away? Especially here in Wordtwistville. Where all is illusion. With nothing here that matters at the holiday table.
Pass the gravy. And the biscuits.
People find self worth in worse ways. Cults are filled with the search for self worth. For value. Guru Flabbybelly will show you the path to personal glory.
That the belief is built upon lies has never stopped a human from beleiving. Regardless of how ridiculous that belief may be.
If believing that cheating is the path to self worth, have at it.
After all, is it really cheating if all you're doing is showing all the low lifes how superior you are? Your superiority is the ultimate truth. Truth cannot be a lie. Therefore, nothing you do is actually cheating. You're merely bringing enlightenment. Bringing truth.
Todd might not understand why anyone cares.
But he could sure identify with that glorious sense of selfworth obtained by winning.
For the rest of us...
could we have a slice of that apple cobbler?