3 ms·

As someone who writes fiction, I respectfully disagree. Art, music and other forms of so called entertainment often elevate the mind and spirit, help people cop

by Mz 10y ago

As someone who writes fiction, I respectfully disagree. Art, music and other forms of so called entertainment often elevate the mind and spirit, help people cope with emotional issues and accomplish a great deal more than pissing the night away. Video games and other forms of entertainment are generally going to have more value for developing people than your typical game of gambling. It has nothing to do with me personally disliking it. It has to do with me being concerned that this solution doesn't add real value to the system to help people eat nutritious food, breathe clean air and so on. I think entertainment has real value for the human species. But not all entertainment is equally valuable.

thaumasiotes 10y ago
> I think entertainment has real value for the human species. But not all entertainment is equally valuable. > It has nothing to do with me personally disliking it.
- Mz 10y ago
  My father was a gambler. I deal left-handed because you couldn't have a relationship to him if you didn't play cards, so I learned to deal at age 4 when I was too young to understand that mirroring what he did caused it to be the opposite hand. I caught him cheating when I was 12 because I was skinning him alive and his ego couldn't take it. We were betting with Christmas cookies and I was winning about 2/3s of the hands and he balked at that. I have zero problem with gambling and I no way dislike it. I still believe that, generally speaking, music (your example of entertainment) as well as art, fiction and many other forms of entertainment generally provide greater value to the human race than gambling does. So, please, kindly, stop with the ad hominems -- "YOU just don't like it" -- which are against the rules here, and give me your argument as to why gambling has as much or more value as other forms of entertainment or kindly leave me alone. Thanks.
  - thaumasiotes 10y ago
    > give me your argument as to why gambling has as much or more value as other forms of entertainment or kindly leave me alone I hardly need to do this; you are self-refuting. You've said that better forms of entertainment produce value by "elevating the mind and spirit" (this is a raw statement of your personal values, not a phenomenon that can be observed) and "helping people cope with emotional issues" (as do all activities). You've said that gambling is not valuable because it doesn't "help people eat nutritious food, breathe clean air, and so on". Neither do any other forms of entertainment, such as the art and fiction you praise. You've complained that the economic effect of gambling is purely redistributive. Once you've assumed away the benefits, that's true of almost all services. Your stated concerns make no sense. People who like gambling and dislike pleasure reading are alien to me, but you have no grounds from which to say that they're wrong to believe they get more value from the gambling.

by Mz 10y ago

thaumasiotes 10y ago

> I think entertainment has real value for the human species. But not all entertainment is equally valuable. > It has nothing to do with me personally disliking it.

Mz 10y ago
My father was a gambler. I deal left-handed because you couldn't have a relationship to him if you didn't play cards, so I learned to deal at age 4 when I was too young to understand that mirroring what he did caused it to be the opposite hand. I caught him cheating when I was 12 because I was skinning him alive and his ego couldn't take it. We were betting with Christmas cookies and I was winning about 2/3s of the hands and he balked at that. I have zero problem with gambling and I no way dislike it. I still believe that, generally speaking, music (your example of entertainment) as well as art, fiction and many other forms of entertainment generally provide greater value to the human race than gambling does. So, please, kindly, stop with the ad hominems -- "YOU just don't like it" -- which are against the rules here, and give me your argument as to why gambling has as much or more value as other forms of entertainment or kindly leave me alone. Thanks.
- thaumasiotes 10y ago
  > give me your argument as to why gambling has as much or more value as other forms of entertainment or kindly leave me alone I hardly need to do this; you are self-refuting. You've said that better forms of entertainment produce value by "elevating the mind and spirit" (this is a raw statement of your personal values, not a phenomenon that can be observed) and "helping people cope with emotional issues" (as do all activities). You've said that gambling is not valuable because it doesn't "help people eat nutritious food, breathe clean air, and so on". Neither do any other forms of entertainment, such as the art and fiction you praise. You've complained that the economic effect of gambling is purely redistributive. Once you've assumed away the benefits, that's true of almost all services. Your stated concerns make no sense. People who like gambling and dislike pleasure reading are alien to me, but you have no grounds from which to say that they're wrong to believe they get more value from the gambling.