Saturday, May 27, 2006

Team Games and Some Ideas

I developed this theory on team sports rather as a matter of fun and as a good point to have a good argument upon, but it has matured into a better theory which makes sense.

My initial statement was that team games/sports are only played by people who's abilities are average or below average, because only they can benefit from other team members. Any player who is above average will soon get frustrated with the others and will have to walk out.

However, this has a lot to do with motivation, not only ability. So the above statement was retained, but 'ability' was replaced by 'motivation'. So now it read like this: Team games can only be played by people who's motivation is below or equal to the average, because any player who's motivation is above the average will get frustrated by the others' lack of motivation and walk out.

However, two truths remained to be added:

Firstly, it can be said that a team can be broken down into indivisual players, all of whom have very specific tasks to accomplish. The overall matching and fitting can be left to a coach or manager, who's dedicated job is only that.

Secondly, both the theories above assume that the sense of joy felt in a team sport is owing to the success of the team as a unit. That is, for example, in football, the joy that each member achieves out of playing in the team is dependent on how many matches the team wins, and how many tournaments or championships the team wins. This assumption is incorrect, because when specific tasks can be set to every team member, it is possible to derive pleasure not from such "material" victories, but personal victories achieved in the specific task. In this case, a player plays not for cups and glory, but for the pure joy of achievements on a personal level, which do not require anyone else's acceptance. Thus, this sort of player plays for a different cause, i.e. , the cause of self-discipline, commitment, dedication, etc.

With the acceptance of these two truths, our theory fails completely! But I hope that we have got a better understanding of team games, and people on the top of such games. So we can assume that Sachin Tendulkar, when he is playing cricket, just comes, bats, fields, does some bowling, all to the best of his capacity and does not bother much about anything else. I don't know if this is true, but it seems like a likely method of achieving excellence in team games.

Friday, May 05, 2006

Everybody's Free

As many of yo might be able to imagine, I am running out of good observations to make, and I am relying on qoutes to get things through. Today, I bring to your attention the lyrics of a song called "Everybody's Free" , by Baz Luhrmann. They are very insightful indeed, please read them and get the song if possible.


Everybody's Free
-Baz Luhrmann

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99 If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..
Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen…