is chess fun

Real talk for a sec. Shrodingers cat has gotta be one of the dumbest things any human has ever thought

I was never impressed, but it generally seemed to be just me. I think being obscure helps keep some ideas safe that shoudn't be... a prime example, on my view, being Stephen Hawking's idea that time might eventually run backwards, a completre absurdity, I don't care who buys it (or who's 'hawking' it? ha ha). Who can really buy the idea that, for example, an effect could ever precede its cause? Put that in your pipe and smoke it, seriously.

Many years ago there was an Emperor so exceedingly fond of new clothes that he spent all his money on being well dressed. He cared nothing about reviewing his soldiers, going to the theatre, or going for a ride in his carriage, except to show off his new clothes. He had a coat for every hour of the day, and instead of saying, as one might, about any other ruler, "The King's in council," here they always said. "The Emperor's in his dressing room."

In the great city where he lived, life was always gay. Every day many strangers came to town, and among them one day came two swindlers. They let it be known they were weavers, and they said they could weave the most magnificent fabrics imaginable. Not only were their colors and patterns uncommonly fine, but clothes made of this cloth had a wonderful way of becoming invisible to anyone who was unfit for his office, or who was unusually stupid.

"Those would be just the clothes for me," thought the Emperor. "If I wore them I would be able to discover which men in my empire are unfit for their posts. And I could tell the wise men from the fools. Yes, I certainly must get some of the stuff woven for me right away." He paid the two swindlers a large sum of money to start work at once.

They set up two looms and pretended to weave, though there was nothing on the looms. All the finest silk and the purest old thread which they demanded went into their traveling bags, while they worked the empty looms far into the night.

"I'd like to know how those weavers are getting on with the cloth," the Emperor thought, but he felt slightly uncomfortable when he remembered that those who were unfit for their position would not be able to see the fabric. It couldn't have been that he doubted himself, yet he thought he'd rather send someone else to see how things were going. The whole town knew about the cloth's peculiar power, and all were impatient to find out how stupid their neighbors were.

"I'll send my honest old minister to the weavers," the Emperor decided. "He'll be the best one to tell me how the material looks, for he's a sensible man and no one does his duty better."

So the honest old minister went to the room where the two swindlers sat working away at their empty looms.

"Heaven help me," he thought as his eyes flew wide open, "I can't see anything at all". But he did not say so.

Both the swindlers begged him to be so kind as to come near to approve the excellent pattern, the beautiful colors. They pointed to the empty looms, and the poor old minister stared as hard as he dared. He couldn't see anything, because there was nothing to see. "Heaven have mercy," he thought. "Can it be that I'm a fool? I'd have never guessed it, and not a soul must know. Am I unfit to be the minister? It would never do to let on that I can't see the cloth."

"Don't hesitate to tell us what you think of it," said one of the weavers.

"Oh, it's beautiful -it's enchanting." The old minister peered through his spectacles. "Such a pattern, what colors!" I'll be sure to tell the Emperor how delighted I am with it."

"We're pleased to hear that," the swindlers said. They proceeded to name all the colors and to explain the intricate pattern. The old minister paid the closest attention, so that he could tell it all to the Emperor. And so he did.

The swindlers at once asked for more money, more silk and gold thread, to get on with the weaving. But it all went into their pockets. Not a thread went into the looms, though they worked at their weaving as hard as ever.

The Emperor presently sent another trustworthy official to see how the work progressed and how soon it would be ready. The same thing happened to him that had happened to the minister. He looked and he looked, but as there was nothing to see in the looms he couldn't see anything.

"Isn't it a beautiful piece of goods?" the swindlers asked him, as they displayed and described their imaginary pattern.

"I know I'm not stupid," the man thought, "so it must be that I'm unworthy of my good office. That's strange. I mustn't let anyone find it out, though." So he praised the material he did not see. He declared he was delighted with the beautiful colors and the exquisite pattern. To the Emperor he said, "It held me spellbound."

All the town was talking of this splendid cloth, and the Emperor wanted to see it for himself while it was still in the looms. Attended by a band of chosen men, among whom were his two old trusted officials-the ones who had been to the weavers-he set out to see the two swindlers. He found them weaving with might and main, but without a thread in their looms.

"Magnificent," said the two officials already duped. "Just look, Your Majesty, what colors! What a design!" They pointed to the empty looms, each supposing that the others could see the stuff.

"What's this?" thought the Emperor. "I can't see anything. This is terrible!

Am I a fool? Am I unfit to be the Emperor? What a thing to happen to me of all people! - Oh! It's very pretty," he said. "It has my highest approval." And he nodded approbation at the empty loom. Nothing could make him say that he couldn't see anything.

His whole retinue stared and stared. One saw no more than another, but they all joined the Emperor in exclaiming, "Oh! It's very pretty," and they advised him to wear clothes made of this wonderful cloth especially for the great procession he was soon to lead. "Magnificent! Excellent! Unsurpassed!" were bandied from mouth to mouth, and everyone did his best to seem well pleased. The Emperor gave each of the swindlers a cross to wear in his buttonhole, and the title of "Sir Weaver."

Before the procession the swindlers sat up all night and burned more than six candles, to show how busy they were finishing the Emperor's new clothes. They pretended to take the cloth off the loom. They made cuts in the air with huge scissors. And at last they said, "Now the Emperor's new clothes are ready for him."

Then the Emperor himself came with his noblest noblemen, and the swindlers each raised an arm as if they were holding something. They said, "These are the trousers, here's the coat, and this is the mantle," naming each garment. "All of them are as light as a spider web. One would almost think he had nothing on, but that's what makes them so fine."

"Exactly," all the noblemen agreed, though they could see nothing, for there was nothing to see.

"If Your Imperial Majesty will condescend to take your clothes off," said the swindlers, "we will help you on with your new ones here in front of the long mirror."

The Emperor undressed, and the swindlers pretended to put his new clothes on him, one garment after another. They took him around the waist and seemed to be fastening something - that was his train-as the Emperor turned round and round before the looking glass.

"How well Your Majesty's new clothes look. Aren't they becoming!" He heard on all sides, "That pattern, so perfect! Those colors, so suitable! It is a magnificent outfit."

Then the minister of public processions announced: "Your Majesty's canopy is waiting outside."

"Well, I'm supposed to be ready," the Emperor said, and turned again for one last look in the mirror. "It is a remarkable fit, isn't it?" He seemed to regard his costume with the greatest interest.

The noblemen who were to carry his train stooped low and reached for the floor as if they were picking up his mantle. Then they pretended to lift and hold it high. They didn't dare admit they had nothing to hold.

So off went the Emperor in procession under his splendid canopy. Everyone in the streets and the windows said, "Oh, how fine are the Emperor's new clothes! Don't they fit him to perfection? And see his long train!" Nobody would confess that he couldn't see anything, for that would prove him either unfit for his position, or a fool. No costume the Emperor had worn before was ever such a complete success.

"But he hasn't got anything on," a little child said.

"Did you ever hear such innocent prattle?" said its father. And one person whispered to another what the child had said, "He hasn't anything on. A child says he hasn't anything on."

"But he hasn't got anything on!" the whole town cried out at last.

The Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, "This procession has got to go on." So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn't there at all.

the emperor's new clothes -Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Jean Hersholt

its a lot of fun

Without getting too much further off topic, regarding Quantum Mechanics, I would argue that nothing about it can be explained without assuming that what we think of as reality is not the primary source of anything we know or experience, not even ourselves, our own minds and bodies. Reality is caused by something else and that 'something else' is not at all bound by space and time. If you strip everything away, everything unnecessary, from ideas about this 'primary source', it might mean you're then farther from the truth, I can't tell, but you'll eventually, in my opinion, have to say, even if it has to be 'as if', something like , it is as if there exists a mind, or minds, and as if it or they are dreaming. Is that too simple? Without a doubt. I'm not sure, however, that the truth can ever be explained in a way that makes sense. As C.S. Lewis said, regarding 'God', we have about as much understanding of what (s)he's up to as a dog does, regarding us, when it sees us reading a book.

i should copyright that ... i like it

but it really is pretty much what i believe

The life is a fun.

We know that time can be slowed down by gravity. It's not impossible to think that time would continue to slow down or even completely stop the more gravity you have -- e.g., at the center of a black hole.

Whether gravity would go *backwards* is something else entirely.

Chess is what you make of it. For me, its all about the mental exercise. Playing is like going to the gym for brain exercise.

Both are nonsense, I fail to see how not...

slow down? sure, why not?

stop completely? sure, why not?

go backwards?

LOL

you can take anything you like and use it as an example

try this

you find a sandwich in your hands, you don't feel hungry but you eat it

after you eat it, you feel hungry

you think "i guess i'll make a sandwich"

then discover you have no bread

suddenly a loaf of bread appears

you think, i was going to go the store for bread but i guess i don't need to

you find a note, in your own handwriting

it says, "please take a nap, it feels like you're wide wake"

but i feel like i've been asleep for hours

the note continues, "exactly... and don't forget to go the store for bread so you can make a sandwich since you aren't hungry"

what kind of sandwich?

the note continues, "the kind you ate of course, you have no choice"

you think, what if i refuse

at that, your head literally explodes off your body and your friend goes,

"yet here you are to tell the tale... incredible!"

thedelcai 
 

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P A I N F U L L Y F U N

"Fun? Of course chess is fun. I love it... and it's a great way to relax." -Anish Giri

I like chess and do usually think it's fun. But I also like that I feel challenged. There are a lot of things in my life that I enjoyed even though I might not have callled them 'fun' exactly... I'm thinking of programming, especially in the early days of 'home' computers. It was often tedious and monotonous, but it was also difficult and required a lot of concentration. Fun? Not exactly the right word, but I liked it and it felt great when you ended up with something that worked well... in those days, too, that meant, it had to mean, code that was elegant, so to speak, perfectly efficient, able to do as much as possible using the least amount of space, like 64k (LOL) or 128k on an Apple IIe, unlike today where it doesn't usually matter... better to save the time and effort and move on to another project than worry about being sloppy.

Good point it’s not really “fun” in the traditional sense. I would also add it kind of sucks

It's fun but you have to come to get to like the mental aspect of it, the deep calculations and then seeing the mind-boggling results that can come out. That's what makes high-level chess entertaining, it's like a refined taste you have to develop.

yes yes yes