Life as a (computer) game
How will we measure our life?
Shivon Zilis (a good friend who has worked at Neuralink for 8 years) asked yesterday:
If reality were a video game, what is the number one compliment *and* critique you would give the game designer?
The replies are worth reading, Lex Fridman wrote that his criticism was that “Small talk with NPCs is sometimes repetitive and boring,” while Elon Musk said “The graphics are great, but the tutorials are way too long.” My own compliment to the game designer is “forced exit of the game through death without knowing if you return or not makes it fascinating.”
Genius entrepreneur and investor Fabrice Grinda (one of my closest friends) just wrote about The Meaning of Life. He quotes Alan Watts and writes about Life as a game:
The world is a game. Once you realize life is a game, the only real move is to play it fully, but with awareness, humor, and zero attachment. Do not get tricked into thinking it’s serious business. When you realize it’s all Lila (the Hindu idea of divine play), then you can fully participate in life, but with a wink, like the cosmic joke finally lands.
These two friends reminded me of the question, “What is reality?” and that life might be the most advanced simulation.
Games all have ways to measure your progress and success. What is “success” at the game of life?
Measuring good actions? Doing good or bad gets you to heaven or hell for the Catholics. The problem is that what's good for some is bad for others; see what’s happening in wars around the world or the current rise of nationalism. “My Country, My God, My Religion” is the source of most wars, according to Krishnamurti, as if we’re just equal players on the same playfield, planet Earth (for now!).
Adam Robinson wrote a fantastic book about connecting with others and seeing magic everywhere as a measure of success in “An Invitation to the Great Game.” He teaches us to see everyone and everything as magic and how to respond to everything with love. His book is difficult to find, but here is a podcast where he shares insights on winning the game of life.
“How will you measure your life?” asks Clayton M. Christensen in another book I read a long time ago, which I highly recommend.
We live in a world where the most common ways of measuring the game of life are power, fame, and money, constantly boosted by social networks and traditional media. We celebrate and draw attention to the most powerful, the best-known actors or singers, and luxury material possessions.
Back to the computer game image for life, they are what you get when you manage to become a hero of the game, the growingly powerful equipment and tools of the players who succeeded at the game.
A few decided to play a completely different game.
Monks and indigenous people told me they are praying for the world and joke that if the world is in such a bad state, it is because they aren’t praying enough (or not enough people are praying enough). Praying or meditating is often seen as a waste of time; the highly spiritual are an exception in the game of life.
Yet, even monks or spiritual leaders need donations or make money to survive.
Among all the indigenous people I spent time with in the Amazon or African jungles, I have not met a single one who lives exclusively from what nature provides. These times seem long gone. Some remote tribes remain entirely disconnected from society, relying solely on hunting or fishing for their livelihood. I’d love to meet them. They are near extinction as Starlink has become ubiquitous, bringing both the magic and the disasters of technology simultaneously.
Money is impossible to avoid in this game, also when doing “good”
Rare social entrepreneurs, such as Boyan Slat (The Ocean Cleanup Project) or Scott Harrison (Charity: Water), have long ago decided to forgo pursuing personal wealth to help the world. Still, they spend a considerable amount of time raising donations. It’s all about how we use money.
I would be grateful if you pointed me to more modern “real” heroes I should follow.
Last week, I wrote about how an entrepreneur raised $1m using the “crowdfunding” powers of crypto DeFi instead of traditional investors.
I have been spending more time exploring the game of crypto, and I will write more soon about some of my new findings. If life is a game, the way traditional finance is being transformed by crypto and AI is fascinating. The rules of the game are changing fast.
I believe that we haven't seen anything yet about the crypto revolution; it has just begun. The past financial scandals and plummeting of some coins will soon be forgotten as bitcoin’s dominance increases and quality entrepreneurial projects emerge.
Money is about to be redefined, and it appears that BTC is poised to win.
I also see how the massive creation of wealth could be better redirected to projects helping our planet.
I wish more crypto protocols would have redistribution to such projects embedded in their tokenomics from the very beginning.