Ancestors

Written by kæt on 2025-01-18 at 15:27

The idea of world champions (gold medals, greatest ever ...) is odd.

It relies on the non-existence of some unknown, partitioned-off possibile world where other folk are undertaking the same endeavour.

While such a thing almost certainly doesn't exist, an accolade which relies on the non-existence of a thing from which it is entirely isolated is an odd one.

For example, given how reproduction works, the greatest swimmer in the world is likely relying for their pride upon a microscopic piece of fluid dynamics causing a microscopic swimmer missing an egg by a micron, somewhere they will forever be unaware of, decades before: that they not have a greater rival. But not just genetically, in terms all causes in their lives.

It's not that winning gold isn't a great thing, and not that it isn't better than winning silver, but the cut off of being the top extant swimmer in the list of possible swimmers is a bit arbitrary, relying upon the strange progress of everything outside your control as a dividing line.

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Toot

Written by kæt on 2025-01-18 at 15:28

I suppose I mean that you can only really be proud of being world champion, per se, if you are also somehow responsible for the non-existence of anyone greater than you. In which case, you probably shouldn't be proud of it.

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Descendants

Written by Jón Fairbairn on 2025-01-19 at 10:29

@chiffchaff I was reminded of your post here when I came across this: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/compete

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