Ayn Rand and Mario Kart

Author: Moozer325
Ayn Rand
Mario Kart

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#1
Moozer325
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I’ve been reading a lot of Ayn Rand lately. I’ve also been playing a lot of Mario Kart lately. The parallels are surprisingly many.

One of my main qualms with Rand is her ignoring of the fundamental randomness of some elements of life. Her entire basis rests on the assumption that we live in a perfect meritocracy, but that’s simply not true. Idiots are sometimes successful and undeserving of what they’ve earned, and qualified people sometimes starve. She’s tried to deny this in her books, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s true.

Now Mario Kart, just like life is not entirely skill based. You can play a perfect race, and get blue shelled on the last lap only to end up in 6th. However while you may have lost the battle, good players still win the war. If you were to race 100 races, the best player wouldn’t win all of them, however it’s all but guaranteed that the best player would win the most of those races. To use another analogy, it’s like poker. Poker is technically based entirely on the cards you are dealt, and yet it’s a game you can be skilled at, because the luck evens out after hundreds of games.

The analogy of Mario Kart really helps me understand the philosophy of Ayn Rand from another angle, but I still wonder, wouldn’t Mario Kart be more skill based if we simply removed items? Shouldn’t we be working to get rid of red shells in our non-meritocratic society? And most of all, if luck is supposed to even out over hundreds of games, how many chances do you get to play the game of life?

Just some weird thoughts I had, what do you guys think?

#2
Lemming
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@Moozer325
I think you have a point, but I'm not sure what the real life 'luck examples would be.
People also might like being able to use items, when 'they have them, or 'might have them someday.

In the military some people thought that certain higher ups would fudge their evaluations of people, ingroup loyalty to those one worked with.
'Ideally one would not do that, and I assume without evidence that 'most people don't fudge their evaluations.
Course a 'lot of the evaluation stuff was garbage, where they made you write up a report of all your 'accomplishments, X many hours doing this or that, this or that 'Voluntold activity.
It was garbage because 'most everyone would do such, and even those that 'don't do more, they would get upset at your for not trying to hype up average actions.

I suppose AI could monitor, evaluate, and recommend. Ideally only being designed with bias that we approved of, thought objective and observing of ability.
. . .

I knew a coworker who I think worked as hard as me, but I'd make sure to do my work where more visible, other coworkers thought the other guy was lazy,
Didn't think so myself.
There's some phrase people often used that I forget, something ah, "Perception is reality" that's it.
Never liked that phrase, people ought to increase their perception and understanding of reality, than to excuse their lazy eyesight or thinking.
But a useful phrase in understanding outcomes with other people, and what one needs do to improve one's outcomes.
. . .

The environment one is born to is luck I suppose,
But I doubt you want to go the Plato Republic route.
. . .

I think people like supporting their tribe,
The ability to support one's tribe and tribes interest close to home, and 'keep one's territory is valued.
So one 'accepts red shells existence to an extent.
#3
Mharman
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@Moozer325
Idiots are sometimes successful and undeserving of what they’ve earned, and qualified people sometimes starve.
I wouldn’t say I’ve read Ayn Rand but this almost never happens. If you make good decisions, you will be rewarded in life. Not in every case, but over the course of time you will succeed. It’s really that simple.

As for Mariokart? It was always a casual game, directed towards casual players. Competitive players just find ways to deal with the randomness, and there’s some pretty neat tactics they have. For example, don’t want a random boo to steal an important item? Hold a coin instead of immediately using it.

Sure pure driving could be a bit more skill-based by pure mechanics, but the randomness tests one’s strategy. Sure it can screw you over too, but it adds a new dimension to skillful gameplay and makes the game more interesting as a whole.
#4
Mharman
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Oh right. Philosophy.

wouldn’t Mario Kart be more skill based if we simply removed items? Shouldn’t we be working to get rid of red shells in our non-meritocratic society?
Sure, some of them, but make sure you have a good definition of meritocracy.

I see too many people claim that meritocracy means all of society is an arranged on a scale of how hard they work.  This thinking at best fails to account for the subjective nature of what can be considered “hard work” and at worst leads to something like the Marxian labor theory of value, where the value entrepreneurs and managers bring is treated as nonexistent because they aren’t on the assembly lines.

Hard work is a good thing, but a good work ethic is one of many merits. Competency, mental strength, physical strength, experience,  etc are all merits that have positive correlations with success.

All of these merits can be controlled, but only up to a certain limit. An unpleasant truth about our merits is that their limits are random. Our genes determine the hard limit for what we can do, assuming we are training ourselves as hard as we can.

And as long as free will exists, some people will be more successful than others. Therefore, some people will be born into better situations than others. This means they will have better resources for self improvement, outside of humility (humility is a gift of its own, however).

Simply put, life isn’t fair. The randomness of one’s birth and genes are red shells that you can never get rid of. And yet, the red shells do not make your choices meaningless, or your level of success predetermined.

Pure equality doesn’t exist, and therefore isn’t a reasonable goal. This is actually the strength of meritocracy. Since different people have different skill sets, and different levels of overall skill, some people are more fit for certain jobs than others. Those who are best at achieving desired results find themselves at the top of society, based on their merits. This makes society as a whole more competent, and helps even the least fortunate, as the most fortunate are able to use their competency to raise the standard of living. 

Consequently, when anything other than talents are considered in hiring/promotions (such as race or gender in the case of DEI, or parenthood in the case of nepotism), meritocracy is threatened in favor of kakistocracy. The result is a less competent society, which harms everyone.

When it comes to red shells, the only thing you can reasonably do is the ensure everyone has equal opportunity under the law. Key words: Under the law.
#5
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@Mharman
I like that phrase of equal opportunity. I used to be more socialist in my leanings, and I more or less subscribed to the idea that some money should be given from rich to poor because the poor has less opportunity.

Now I’ve come to see that money is earned and thus shouldn’t really be taken, it’s opportunity that should be taken, as opportunity is not earned so much as born into.

An example of this would be relatively equal public school funding. So often, opportunity is correlated to wealth of parents, but if we can find a way to distribute opportunity equally without stealing wealth, then we get closer to equality with the understanding that not everyone is going to get to the same place.

This is the main problem with DEI. It does a good job of recognizing the problem, but it tries to make a right out of two wrongs. We should be focusing on separating opportunity from wealth instead of going the opposite direction, and giving more opportunity to those without money.
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@Moozer325
I’ve been reading a lot of Ayn Rand lately. I’ve also been playing a lot of Mario Kart lately. The parallels are surprisingly many.
Let's see. By the way only back for today to nominate somebody for my write up




One of my main qualms with Rand is her ignoring of the fundamental randomness of some elements of life. Her entire basis rests on the assumption that we live in a perfect meritocracy
.
You haven't read enough if you think this. She criticizes modern society for not being meritocratic enough. I don't think she would advocate for a perfect meritocracy either as that would result in some ugly things as well. We have a right to give our property and jobs to unworthy people if we want according to Rand.



, but that’s simply not true. Idiots are sometimes successful and undeserving of what they’ve earned, and qualified people sometimes starve. She’s tried to deny this in her books, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s true.
Have you read Atlas shrugged where she shows very competent people in poverty and very stupid people with control of large mega corporations?

It seems you are strawmanning her ideology TBH.
#8
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@Moozer325
Wylted has the correct take on your OP. I would only add in a macro sense, over the long haul, the natural selection process will always favor meritocracy.
#9
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Wylted has the correct take on your OP. I would only add in a macro sense, over the long haul, the natural selection process will always favor meritocracy.
Elon Musk and Trump are good examples.
#10
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@Moozer325
Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

I'm not sure that Ayn Rand is a meritocrat.

So Trump and Putin, are they autocrats or meritocrats or both?

What actually constitutes meritoriousness?

Someone who makes a living scavenging rubbish dumps, will have their merits.

Are there good and bad merits?.

So we define merit as being good and worthy...But one might consider someone to be  bad, but that person might be successful and therefore meritorious in their own right.

And of course, in the USA, about 50% thought that Trump was meritorious, and about 50% didn't.

But Trump is the President of the USA.

So should we just conclude that merits are as merits do?

And consign Ayn Rand to the rubbish dump, where she can be meritoriously recycled.
#11
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@zedvictor4
I'm not sure that Ayn Rand is a meritocrat.

Both Trump and Elon Musk belong in Ayn Rands camp.
Meritocracy—the cornerstone of Rand's philosophy—offers a better alternative. It emphasizes rewarding individuals based on their achievements, ...


#12
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@Shila
As I suggested, merits are as merits do.

I would further suggest that we reward merit where we see advantage and not necessarily in terms of a broader social benefit.


#13
Shila
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@zedvictor4
As I suggested, merits are as merits do.

I would further suggest that we reward merit where we see advantage and not necessarily in terms of a broader social benefit.
What advantage is there to cut taxes on billionaires when they can most afford to pay them?
#14
ADreamOfLiberty
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@Moozer325
Her entire basis rests on the assumption that we live in a perfect meritocracy
That's like saying science is based on the assumption of flawless data.

#15
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@Shila
Billionaires have their merits...That's how they became billionaires.

You too could become a billionaire...But could you?...Do you have the same merits?

You complain about tax, because you have not become a meritorious billionaire.

I was taught to not worry about what others have and do, but to get on with my own life...This strategy has it's merits too.


Though what does a billionaire have time to do that you don't?...Other than make and spend money.

Just go make more money Shila, and you will be able to spend more on stuff that you probably don't actually need.
#16
Shila
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@zedvictor4
Billionaires have their merits...That's how they became billionaires.

You too could become a billionaire...But could you?...Do you have the same merits?
Elon Musk is a genius. In less than 25 years he has become the richest man in the world. He is also from South Africa.
#17
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@Shila
Elon is from everywhere, or so it seems...He breeds prolifically...And will be a genius if he can discover the secret of eternal youth.

He's tech savvy and clever, and billionaire material...Whereas I am not...Though I am savvy enough to be able to get by comfortably.

And neither do I know the secret of eternal youth.

What about you Shila?
#18
Shila
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@zedvictor4
And neither do I know the secret of eternal youth.

What about you Shila?
Staying a virgin makes me feel youthful.
#19
FLRW
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He's Baaaaack!
#20
TheGreatSunGod
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@Shila
Staying a virgin makes me feel youthful.
Some men do prefer virgins.
#21
FLRW
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@TheGreatSunGod

Well, we know God did.
#22
Shila
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@FLRW
Well, we know God did.
Are there no virgins in heaven that God had to look for Mary on earth?
#23
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@Shila

 Hmmmmm.
#24
Shila
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@FLRW
Hmmmmm.
Got you thinking about heaven, didn’t I?
#25
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@Moozer325
I like that phrase of equal opportunity.
Yeah, but is that equal input or equal output? I prefer thinking we are not collectively expectant to have either one. What is important is individual ambition, planning, and execution, which my father taught me beginning in elementary school to stop worrying about this or that other competing student, but to compete with myself and apply ambition, planning, and execution on my own terms and excel on my terms. Equal opportunity is a shell game, always was and always will be  a failure because it's a socialist/marxist attitude of collectivism. We're meant to be individuals in a free society. I make my own opportunities, thank you.
#26
Shila
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@fauxlaw
We're meant to be individuals in a free society. I make my own opportunities, thank you.
But you are retired. What opportunities do you have?
#27
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@Shila
 What opportunities do you have?
I still write and illustrate/graphic design for myself and freelance customers, and continue investment in my portfolio of precious metals, real estate, and a few stocks.
#28
FLRW
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@Shila

I'm retired, but I   "do a bit of delivery driving" AT THE BIG BANG CLUB !
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#29
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@fauxlaw
Yeah, it’s important to apply equality of opportunity with the assumption that we won’t all get to the same place. I always considered myself the smartest kid in my very small elementary school, so when I got older and my world expanded, I had to cope with the fact that there were people who were just fundamentally better than me in almost every way. It was a tough blow to my ego, but I had to learn the same thing you mentioned.
#30
Shila
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@FLRW
I'm retired, but I   "do a bit of delivery driving" AT THE BIG BANG CLUB !
You deliver Big Bang to your customers?