The Blackberry Walk

Each and every man must stand on the precipice of order hanging over the pit of chaos. And with each action, it is easy to stumble head first into that pit. Hence so many people are averse to the unknown; if you stand far enough away from the precipice there is no risk of falling into the rapids. But what if we could simulate the many daunting escapades we may encounter in an abstract safe system. Let's call this a game. Games have existed since time immemorial - even across species they are common. They are an abstraction and simplification of the real world with the aim of focusing on a specific motif on which to improve upon. Let's take football for an example. You have to get the ball within the other team's net. Simple enough. Yet to maintain a balanced playing field many other rules are used such as throw-ins and corners for when the ball goes off court. For it to be functional, we don't want people taking the ball 10 miles east to flank the competition. Football is fundamentally an abstraction of hunting. Your team is trying to poach the net. Yet in the real world, there are many teams, tribes, all trying to hunt the same game. Inevitably war between these tribes over food will break out and football is the interplay of two teams trying to get the deer. Of course the idea of a game is a spectrum of abstraction. This is most clearly seen when you compare different civilisations across time. One step closer to war than football is lacrosse which was invented by the native Americans. It was a 2 to 3 day affair wherein neighbouring villages fought one another sometimes resulting in deaths. Another step removed is the traditional Papuan war games where, even though the tribes didn't need to go to war, the had war rituals - real fighting with real deaths. But it was all just a game. A practice attempt for when war is inevitable. To ensure the men of the tribe don't become jelly-like in the intermediate generations. In the first episode of Saikoro-club which just aired, our turquoise-haired protag is afraid of entering the forest. Afraid of the very idea of play. Playing is how one overcomes fear. She has hidden so far away from the precipice she no longer has the means to approach it. Getting lost can be truly terrified. No map in an alien environment and as night falls there's no sign of life. But that is exactly why it is so important to pretend to be lost. Maigo-gokko. The very reason it is fun is because it is a small pat on the back. You've overcome the potentiality of being lost. You feel more confident for the future because you've prepared yourself. Emotions tell us what we're doing right and, although we a prone to hacking the pathway through substances and gaming, the 'fun' pathway tells us that we are on the right track, following the right path. Pursue your bliss. Your unconscious biology knows best.