Endless Boundaries

ENDLESS BOUNDARIES

and Play in the Human Experience

Preface

O S L Triggs (CR, Philosophy and Religious Studies Department)

Look around, and you will find yourself completely immersed in games. Playing them has been a fundamental part of the human experience, and the emergence of games alongside the earliest civilisations only serves to underscore their importance. But their influence extends far beyond the recreational: established conventions (written and unwritten) inscribe norms and values that can be indicative of the people that maintain them; competition pushes people to ever-greater feats; and their appearance in various media or simple turns of phrase makes clear the way in which games are a universally-legible medium for self-expression. This makes them a wonderfully rich area of study, opening doors into the past with a fascinating diversity of disciplines and perspectives, while also casting a new light onto the games that make up our everyday experience and how they inform the way in which we choose to live our lives.

It was a conscious choice to explore the idea of Games in 2024. The Paris Olympics loom large, of course, but also there is application much closer to home. This year commemorates the 150th anniversary of the construction of the Marlborough Cricket Pavilion – designed by the great Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse (of National History Museum fame) – and the publication encourages us to appreciate, as the title suggests, the limitless possibilities that studying and playing games can offer us.

Proudly following in the footsteps of publications like Marlborough Chalk, this project carries on a tradition of an expansive theme with multifarious applications. Over the course of the academic year, articles were released in small batches to highlight this – now, they can be found organised into loose groupings, each still fantastically diverse. Some have chosen to look at moments: the kick of a ball has been meticulously biomechanically analysed, or the result of a chess match has been seen as an inflection point for humanity and geopolitics. Others have taken a long view, trying to chart the history and evolution of games across time and space. Several authors sought to understand the impact that games have on us, from the harsh and palpable realities of brain injury to hypotheticals of what life would be like without games. Some highlight how games are an arena in which today’s contests – not only athletic, but political and social – are borne out, and others how they are a vehicle for alternative visions of (and sometimes warnings for) the world. Lastly, many contributions encourage us to think about the kinds of games that are less visible – whether they are found in language or in art that might question the nature of adult life.

This publication owes its existence first and foremost to Jackie Jordan, whose endless support has made possible the cohesive and accessible publication you see before you. There are also, of course, the contributions offered both by staff and pupils, who have taken full advantage of the almost infinite scope offered by the heading of “Games” and penned enthralling, nuanced articles that display a lively intellectual engagement across the Marlborough community. Thanks also to a host of Remove co-editors, but also Tali S and Ginny M for their work in compiling this publication. Finally, thanks are due to C A F Moule: his tireless commitment to enriching academic life at Marlborough has made projects like this possible, his encouragement and belief helping transform an idea mentioned in passing into the collection that follows.

We hope you enjoy a project which so many members of our community poured themselves into, and that it encourages you to look for the games that make up your life.

Ancient Egyptian Games

Daisy G (Re)

Games have been around for thousands of years and date back to ancient civilisation. They have always been an important part of cultures and one of the first forms of human interaction. They can include elements such as, sociability and bonding, education, competitiveness, escapism, and enjoyment. The human species is naturally equipped to play games because it requires and thrives from intellectual stimulation combined with a natural competitiveness which originates from the Darwinian theory of the ‘survival of the fittest.’

Whilst there is limited evidence of board games predating 3500 BC, it seems that the ancient Egyptians were undoubtedly early pioneers of game development. By the first dynasty, Ancient Egypt had become a settled agrarian society which inhabited the fertile Nile Valley and Delta. The conditions were perfect for various types of games to evolve. The society had long periods of stability, wealth (when crops were good) and there was an established hierarchy, including a sizeable standing army.

Senet was possibly the most popular game played during the Ancient Egyptian period. The earliest of these boards have been found dating from the Middle Kingdom (2000-1600 BC). We know the game was also known as ‘the game of passing through’ as it appears to have been based upon the important religious concept of achieving everlasting life by successfully journeying through the underworld. The most common boards were constructed of a pottery like material called faience, but, like with other aspects of Egyptian society, the richest classes obtained boards made of more expensive and rare materials such as ebony wood and ivory. Even though we have evidence of the boards (four were found in Tutankhamun’s tomb) we are not completely sure about the rules of the games. However, it would seem like it was a game based on chance, as are many games which were derived from the all-important religious beliefs, as this governed every aspect of Egyptian life in the Nile Delta.

Another popular board game found from Egypt around the Predynastic period around 3000 BC to the end of the Old Kingdom in 2300 BC was the board game called Mehen. Again, the rules are a mystery, however it would appear that the game is based around the snake god, Mehen. Whilst there is little evidence of it continuing to be played in the Middle Kingdom or beyond, later boards have been found in Cyprus therefore suggesting that the game was adopted by other cultures. Board games that we play today, for example backgammon and snakes and ladders, are not necessarily based upon religious beliefs and ideas, but still have elements of chance which makes the games enjoyable and competitive!

Throughout Egyptian paintings there are many scenes of boys and girls shown playing games outdoors as it was felt that it would lead to a healthy adult member of the community. Hieroglyphics have suggested that boys and girls did not typically play together, but boys were shown frequently wrestling, rowing, boxing, or playing competitive

A pAinting of Queen nefertAri plAying A gAme of senet

the gAme of mehen

team sports, for example field hockey. Girls were shown dancing and doing gymnastics. Both boys and girls were taught how to swim at an early age, which is hardly surprising given life revolved around the River Nile.

Similar to today’s children, young Ancient Egyptians enjoyed playing with toys, many of which were figures of women and men or animals made of clay or wood. These toys, represent many different aspects of Ancient Egyptian life and roles in society, ranging from soldiers with chariots, to women kneading dough. Playing with toys was a natural way of preparing these children for what was expected from them in later life. There were a number of toys excavated from the Tomb of Tutankhamun.

Physical pastimes were not only restricted to the young, but also played an important role in adult life. Much of the success of Ancient Egypt was dependent on the Pharoah maintaining a powerful standing army. Not only did the soldiers need to be fit and strong, but they also needed to be entertained and kept busy during long periods of peace.

Many of the activities reflected skills required in battle such as javelinthrowing, boxing, weightlifting, and running. Archery was also popular but was mostly associated with higher ranking officers and nobility, such as Amenhotep II (1425-1400 BCE), who was depicted being able to shoot through a solid copper target whilst mounted on a chariot. Sports were also popular with all levels of Egyptian civilian society, from the very top, the Pharoah, to the common people, who are seen in rowing competitions, playing handball and high jumping, which were performed in the same way they are today. The fitness of the Pharoah mirrored his ability to reign and reflected Egypt’s strength as the Pharoah was the gods’ representative on earth. His physical abilities were tested at the important Heb-Sed festival.

One team sport that we would probably recognise today, is the Egyptians’ version of field hockey which was played by two teams using palm branches cut with curved ends and with a ball made of a papyrus centre covered with cloth or animal hide. Many of these sports were enjoyed by spectators much as today when we watch sport on television or go to stadiums.

Egypt was undoubtedly an early and important contributor to a wide range of games, both sports and pastimes. Over 3000 years, it not only developed its own versions of games based upon its religion, social hierarchy, and its activities centred on the River Nile, but it also exported many on these ideas to other neighbouring ancient civilisations, such as the Assyrians, the Nubians, the Greeks and the Romans. We can see the everlasting popularity of many of these games today with many of these pastimes being multibillion pound industries in their own right, from the premier football league worth $13billion to the UK toy industry valued at £4.3billion in 2022. I wonder what the Ancient Egyptians would have thought of the latest AI games which are now being developed!

rAmesses ii At the BAttle of KAdesh

some of King tutAnKhAmun’s toys As A child

Games

Santiago F (Re)

Games have been played for thousands of years. Some played with friends, and others in front of thousands. In the ancient world, there were several games which were influential and valued greatly in societies, the most famous one being the Olympic Games. The other two games I will write about are the Gladiator games from Ancient Rome and Bullfights, originating in Spain. In this essay, we will explore how these games originated, influenced their society and still have influences today.

How long ago the Ancient Olympic Games started is quite unclear however the traditional date is 776 BC. The games were an athletic and religious festival held in honour of Zeus. The main events of the Games were made up of running, combat sports and the long jump. The Games brought together the different cities of Greece, creating a sense of unity and community. Before the Games, which took place every 4 years, there would be temporary truces between cities, something which allowed peaceful competition. The Games also promoted art and culture as well as trade because a great number of people from all over the Mediterranean came to watch. This benefited the cities that hosted the Games and contributed to their economy and cultural richness. These Games celebrated athletic ability and were a place for athletes to show off their capabilities and promote a society that valued health and athletic ability. Finally, the Olympic Games were festivals of religion. Sacrifices, rituals and gifts for the Gods were regular and winning athletes were viewed as heroes. The Games’ main impact on Greece was the cultural aspect. They created unity between the states and made an event that would be carried on thousands of years later. The modern Olympic Games are the biggest stage in the world for several sports and show how great of an impact the Games made.

Closely related to the Olympics, Gladiator fights were fought in Ancient Rome. Despite a vast number of records, the origins are unknown but are speculated to be of Etruscan descent. The first recorded fight was in 264 BC during the funeral of politician Junius Brutus and gradually became a more common event. They started off as religious and formal contests, however, they turned into forms of entertainment. Gladiators fought each other as well as wild animals. Lions, tigers, bears and elephants were brought to these events. Naumachia were naval battles that took

place in stadia like the Colosseum. They would flood the stadium and put in boats. These would seldom happen and were very expensive. Gladiator fights were also used politically. By making the fights gory and bloody, Roman leaders could show their power of life and death to potential rebels or criminals. They could also be used to gain popularity and followers. If the show was of a high quality, the person who organised it would be praised. This means they could have more power. The fights have led to modern sports like boxing, UFC and MMA, which all have traces of Gladiator fights.

Bullfighting, as well as the origins of Gladiator Fights, was for important political people. The first recorded bullfight was for the Coronation of King Alfonso VIII in the year 711 AD. It is speculated that bullfighting originated in the Mediterranean region from bull sacrifices. Bullfighting has a very important role in Spanish culture. It was for the rich, and celebrated religious festivals and weddings between royals and other important figures. Bullfights are very traditional and are viewed by many as an art. The matador, the man who fights the bull, is skilful and elegant in the way he moves. “Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter’s honour.”, said Ernest Hemingway, a very knowledgeable person on bullfighting who wrote several books on the topic. Bullfighting has also inspired artists and poetry. Hemingway’s most famous novel is The Sun Also Rises. Bullfighting, although it is facing great amounts of controversy, still brings in lots of tourism and is famous around the world. The tradition is dying as it is being banned in several Spanish regions.

To conclude, the Olympic Games, Gladiator fights and Bullfights are greater than simple games. They are embedded in the country’s history and are very traditional. They unified cities, celebrated athletic excellence and religion and undoubtedly had a long-lasting effect on their societies. Ours too are impacted. Bullfights still take place in some places in Spain, combat sports have descended from gladiator fights and the Modern Olympic Games is the greatest sporting event there is.

Traditional Chinese Games

Ollie F (Re)

China has a large range of fascinating history, such as the construction of the magnificent Great Wall of China, or the many dynasties, the first of which was 2070 BC, ruled by Xia Chao. However, in this essay I will explore the world of traditional Chinese games. Traditional Chinese games have served a huge role in shaping China’s culture, and it also gives us an insight on how people from China lived their lives up to 4,000 years ago. These games stretch back thousands of years and get passed down many generations. From strategic board games like Go, to physical activities like Jianzi, these games not only entertained, but also brought communities together.

One of the first Chinese board games is called Go or Weiqi in China and it involves two players. The objective of the game is to surround a larger total area of the board with one’s stones than the opponent. It is thought to have originated in China around 4,000 years ago and according to some sources it dates back as early as 2,356 BC. Traditionally it is played with 181 black and 180 white goishi (flat, round pieces called stones) on a 19 x 19 square wooden board (goban). In 2015, Demis Hassabis, Shane Legg, and Mustafa Suleyman (the founders of Deep Mind) tried creating a software that could play Go. It was called Alpha Go and it initially learned by watching 150,000 games played by human experts, then they created lots of copies of Alpha Go and got it to play itself over and over. Then in March 2016 they organised Alpha Go to play in a tournament and was pitted against Lee Sedol, a World Champion, and Alpha Go ended up beating him 4-1. They have now developed the game even more. Later versions of the software like Alpha Zero are capable of learning more about the game than the entirety of human experience could teach it.

Another example of a Traditional Chinese Game is Tai Chi, which is a physical game and the earliest known references to it date from the T’ang Dynasty (618-960 AD), where movement patterns were practiced by recluses who had retired to the Chinese mountain regions. Tai Chi is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for self-defence and health. It is also still widely used in Eastern Asian countries. Most modern styles of Tai Chi trace their development to the five traditional schools: Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu and Sun.

Many Chinese traditional games are social, such as Mahjong which bring people together, creating opportunities for social interaction. Mahjong is a tilebased game that is usually played with three players. More recently, the game is now widely played online and it is considered a gambling game. Mahjong is currently illegal to play in any unlicensed establishment in China if you’re betting money, apart from during Chinese New Year.

In conclusion, despite the rise of digital entertainment and globalisation, traditional Chinese games continue to hold a special place in modern society. They provide a means of preserving cultural heritage, promoting physical activity, and connecting generations. It is also important to preserve these traditional games and make sure these games are not lost to history. Some examples of efforts to protect these games are many festivals and events which celebrate traditional games and try to attract local and international attention. Many of these games have transcended national boundaries and there are enthusiasts worldwide. As we can see, many of these games have become electronic and people can play against each other from other sides of the world, which encourage more and more people to play. However, it is still important to play these games how they were traditionally played so we can still remember how people 4,000 years ago felt when they played these games and so we can bond with one another in person. It is vital that we continue to celebrate and cherish these traditional games as they evolve and make sure they are never forgotten.

That Drop Goal in 2003: A Biomechanical Analysis

James F (L6)

On the 22nd November 2003, in front of just under 82,000 fans in the Stadium Australia in Sydney, as well as up to 30 million more on television, Jonny Wilkinson gave Rugby fans one of the most iconic moments in the history of the game. Deep into extra time in the final, with just 26 seconds left on the clock, Wilkinson, in the iconic words of Ian Robinson, ‘drops for world cup glory’, the ball bisects the posts and England claim the Web Ellis trophy for the first and only time in history as of yet. This is seen by many as the greatest single kick there has ever been in the sport, and therefore I have decided to choose it in particular to analyse, looking into the biomechanics of the movement and how this unforgettable moment came about.

Biomechanics is the science associated with internal forces and mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms. In this case of a sporting movement, I will be analysing the movement around joints, the actions of muscles to produce force and more to determine how Wilkinson was able to kick the ball in such a way that he did.

To begin with, Wilkinson’s drop goal was a sequential motion, composed of several different body segments interacting in a ‘proximal-to-distal sequential pattern’, or otherwise known as the kinematic sequence. This

Jonny WilKinson Attempts A drop goAl to All But seAl the rugBy World cup for englAnd

pattern refers to the movement and orientation of a segment relative to adjacent segments, which falls within the principles of force summation, where in order to achieve the greatest distal speed (in this case the speed of Wilkinson’s boot), the order of movement must be from the most proximal segment to the most distal. For example, when throwing a tennis ball, your trunk moves first, then your upper arm, followed by your forearm and finally your wrist. This creates a motion similar to the cracking of a whip, allowing your hand to achieve a maximal distal velocity, which translates to how far you can throw the ball. Returning to the movement of Wilkinson’s drop goal, this proximal-to-distal pattern begins with the internal rotation of his trunk, followed by the flexion of his hip to bring his upper leg forwards, and lastly the extension of the quadriceps to accelerate his lower leg and foot to strike the ball. This sequence of movements allows Wilkinson’s boot to have a sufficient velocity that when it connects with the ball, it has enough momentum to transfer the force required for the ball to go over the posts.

To further analyse the biomechanics of Jonny Wilkinson’s famous drop goal, I have split the movement into four phases: The preparation phase, the kicking phase, ball contact phase and the follow through phase, each of which I will be explaining subsequently.

What I have labelled as the preparation phase is the time and movements from Wilkinson catching the ball to when his foot is at the top of his backswing. His shoulders are at an angle of approximately 45° to the posts, and as his hands close around the ball, Wilkinson simultaneously brings it down to about halfway up his femur, and transfers his body weight from his right foot to his left. He then takes one step forward to gather momentum, his left foot just now off the ground. From this point, Wilkinson pushes off his right foot and takes a relatively large step with his left, his quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior all bracing to absorb the impact with the ground. This step is larger than the ones before, as this generates more momentum for the kick, however, for this drop goal in particular, Wilkinson actually takes a smaller step than when he is place kicking, which can be seen in the comparison below between the angles of his leg in this particular drop goal, and a place kick for his club of Toulouse (the image on the left has been rotated so as to show the difference in angle better).

As can be seen in the two images above, Wilkinson took a smaller in-step to his drop goal than he would for a regular place kick resulting in a greater angle between the ground and his plant leg. This is because for the drop goal, he had to prioritise accuracy over distance to make the kick, and research conducted by Lees and Nolan (2002) showed that when an accuracy constraint is added into a kicker’s consideration, the length of the final step becomes shorter, resulting in a less acute angle with the ground. As he takes this final step, his anterior and medial deltoids contract, raising his arm. Then, his gluteus maximus contract as the agonist of the movement and the psoas and iliacus muscles relax as the antagonists of the movement, leading to hip extension, which brings back Wilkinson’s right leg to the top of his backswing and hence the end of the preparation phase.

As he raises his right leg, it gains gravitational potential energy, and this, along with force produced by muscles and the kinematic sequence allow Wilkinson’s boot to gain velocity as it descends. With his leg as high as possible, his Rectus abdominis and External oblique muscles would contract, resulting in trunk rotation in the

transverse plane, causing the angle between the line of his shoulders and the posts to decrease. Then, the psoas and iliacus muscles contract and his gluteus maximus relax, causing flexion at the ball and socket joint between his pelvis and his femur. As the velocity of his upper leg maximises, the antagonistic pair of the hamstrings and the quadriceps relax and contract respectively, resulting in extension about the knee joint. Finally, the muscles in his lower leg would contract isometrically, in order to brace for contact with the ball, where the kicking phase ends.

This initiates the ball contact phase, which happens over a timespan of milliseconds. During the kicking phase, Wilkinson’s boot has gained a significant amount of momentum, due to both the mass of it and predominantly the velocity with which it is moving. As it hits the ball, every muscle is braced, so that the time of contact is as small as possible because as the ball is struck, it will have a significant change in momentum. The equation Force = Change in momentum/Change in time explains that for the ball to be hit with maximal force, the time of the contact must be as short as possible, hence the muscles bracing to create as hard a surface as possible. As the boot and ball come into contact with each other, kinetic energy is transferred from the former to the latter, in the exact right spot for so that the direction to ball travels in is good, and it flies through the posts.

Finally, the kick finishes with the follow-through phase. As he kicks the ball, not all of the momentum in Wilkinson’s leg is transferred to the ball, and so it keeps swinging upwards, as in the photograph below. During this, the muscles in his left leg remain isometrically contracted, providing a strong base and preventing the momentum from causing him to fall over.

Jonny Wilkinson’s iconic drop goal in 2003 is a moment that won’t be forgotten for as long as the game goes on. It demonstrated a supreme blend of biomechanically precise movement and mental composure, all within the space of less than a second, and exhibits the combination of raw talent and meticulous preparation that is required for somebody to pull something like this off in such a high-pressured situation, especially when you consider that it was off his weak foot. This was the highest point in Wilkinson’s career and perhaps even in the history of English rugby, second only possibly to when William Webb Ellis himself picked up the football and ran with it, and the game itself was born.

The Origins of Hockey

Bella M (L6)

The roots of hockey are somewhat foggy, simply based on the fact that there are multiple historical records which detail games similar to that of modern hockey occurring in almost all ancient civilisations.

In Ancient Egypt, there is an image of two people playing with sticks and a ball in the Beni Hasan tomb of Khety, who was an administrator of Dynasty XI. Whereas in Ancient Greece there is a similar depiction (shown on the right) from 510BC, outlining figures playing an ancestral form of hockey or ground billiards. However, the contents of this ancient image are under controversy as researchers disagree over whether the characters are taking part in a team contest or a one-on-one activity.

Before 300BC in East Asia and Inner Mongolia, China, the Daur people had been playing beikou, a game using a carved wooden stick and ball. They had been playing this game for an estimated thousand years. In the same region, during the Ming Dynasty a field hockey variant called suigan was played from 1368-1644.

In Punjab state in India, an ancient form of field hockey was played throughout the 17th century. Around the same time period, palin/chueca was played by the indigenous Mapuche people in South America, more specifically in Chile. The Spanish Conquistadors, upon arrival in Chile, named the activity chueca as it resembled a Spanish game of that same name. It was once widely regarded that the Conquistadors introduced the game of chueca to the Mapuche tribe when they first conquered the region, however more recent studies outline that the Mapuche people had been playing palin for many years - due to the fact that it was often played for ritual purposes or in preparation for battle. During the 17th and 18th centuries, palin was banned by the Spanish colonial government of Chile, due to its tribal origins and connections. Once Chile gained independence in the 1800s, the game was revived. Palin/chueca is the only pre-Columbian Mapuche game which has survived into the present day.

In Northern Europe, mainly Iceland, since the early Middle Ages, the games of hurling and knattleikr (both stick and ball games) have been played. One of the earliest and most common recordings where hockey was recognised was under the proclamation by Edward III “Moreover we ordain that you prohibit under penalty of imprisonment all and sundry from such stone, wood and iron throwing: handball, football or hockey”

Modern hockey was formulated during the 19th century in public schools in England. It is now played internationally, taking the name field hockey - although mainly in Canada where they also have ice hockey. Similarly, in Sweden and Norway, the term land hockey is used.

The science behind swing, curl and other ball movements in the air

Archie D (Sh)

Pretty much everyone will have thrown or kicked a ball before, but why don’t they just fly straight? Within this article, I will discuss the differences between different sports and how it all works on a scientific level.

Cricket

Whilst there are many types of movement in cricket, such as wobble and drift, there is one main type in cricket, swing. Swing occurs when one side is rough and the other is “shiny’ (smooth). On the shiny side there is more of a smooth (laminar) flow as opposed to the rough side that has more of a chaotic (turbulent) flow of air. This means that the air on the smooth side has an earlier separation from the ball than that of the rough side, pushing the ball towards the rough side figure 1

figure

Ball Flight Direction

Rough Side Swing Direction

Smooth Side

Football

To understand how footballs curl we must first understand how power and energy is transferred from the foot to the ball. When we kick a ball, energy is transferred to the ball as velocity and spin. This means that the more you want to curl a ball, the less speed the ball will generate. The reason that balls curl has a name: the Magnus Effect. This describes how the ball spinning generates different pressures. It effectively states that the air flowing with the rotating side stays on the ball for longer than that flowing against it because of gravity. That then creates an area of high pressure and one of low, these pretty much push and pull respectively on the ball, making it curl. This is shown by the diagram figure 2.

Area of low pressure

Air that the ball is travelling into

The opposite happens on this side and this pushes the ball in the opposite direction

Friction causes the air to stick to the ball for longer

Movement of the ball This would mean that the ball would end up curling in this direction

Area of high pressure

Another movement in football is called “knuckle”. This is when the ball dips and moves unpredictably due to the ball not having any rotation. This is because when the air from the smooth surfaces between the seams hits the stitching it makes it a turbulent flow, causing unpredictable changes of movement in the ball’s trajectory.

Rugby

Whilst a rugby ball does not usually swing, there is some physics behind why we spin it the way we do. This is down to the law of conservation of angular momentum, which states that because the ball is spinning in one axis, it will resist spinning in any others. For example, a spinning top works because whilst it is spinning, it has angular momentum and because this is conserved, it will not move in any other direction (ie. it will not fall over). The same happens to a rugby ball, meaning that it will stay straight in the most predictable and aerodynamic way.

figure 2

A History of Cricket at Marlborough

Mr M P L Bush (CR, History Department)

Marlborough College was founded in 1843 and for the first few years there was no expectation that any extracurricular activities would be provided by the staff. However, a few of the pupils were interested in cricket. They organised some internal games for their own interest, clubbing together to provide bats, balls, stumps etc. By 1849, the boys had begun levelling a ground and had formed a Cricket Club.

George Cotton, who arrived from Rugby School as Master in 1852, had worked under Dr Arnold while he famously reformed the school. Cotton introduced all of Arnold’s reforms to Marlborough, especially stressing the importance of sport. He insisted that to be eligible to play for a College team, boys had to practise at least three times a week. By 1855, when the first match between the two schools took place at Lord’s, the main cricket square at Marlborough had been completed. By 1860, the XI plateau had been fully leveled and a rustic pavilion had been built. This was replaced by the present pavilion in 1874 which was designed by Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse, famous for designing the Natural History Museum and Manchester Town Hall.

For 117 years, the Marlborough/Rugby match was a regular fixture at Lord’s. Marlborough were thrashed by 10 wickets in the inaugural fixture and it was not until 1862 that they secured their first victory, winning by an innings and 17 runs. The last match at Lord’s against Rugby took place in 1972, with Marlborough winning by 6 wickets. Since then, the match has been played as a two-day fixture at both schools in alternate years. In August 2017, the two schools were invited back to Lord’s for Rugby’s 450th anniversary with Marlborough winning a thrilling contest by 25 runs. The fixture has been played 163 times. Of these Rugby have won 51 and Marlborough 46, including most recently in 2023.

Arguably the most famous old Marlburian cricketer is A.G. Steel. He captained England and played in the first ever Test Match in 1880, and his name features on the inscription upon the Ashes Urn. Other notable names include former President of the MCC Mike Griffith, who captained Sussex in the 1960s & 1970s and also played Hockey for England, and former BBC Test Match Special commentator and Times correspondent Christopher Martin-Jenkins, famously nicknamed ‘the voice of cricket.’ In addition, Leslie Gay (Somerset, Hampshire &

England), Arthur Hill (Hampshire & England) Frank Druce (Surrey & England), John Hartley (Sussex & England), Reggie Spooner (Lancashire & England), who also represented England at Rugby, Jake Seamer (Somerset), Richard Savage (Warwickshire), Ed Cunningham (Gloucestershire), Robbie Williams (Middlesex & Leicestershire) and Billy Mead (Kent) are among other OMs who have gone on to play first class cricket.

Girls Cricket was introduced in 2016 and soon afterwards the inaugural match against Bradfield was hosted. Marlborough won the first Girls fixture against Rugby by 8 wickets in 2018 and there was a mixed tour to South Africa in 2020. It has evolved rapidly and there are now 4 teams with a full set of fixtures. Cricket tours are a relatively recent phenomenon, with the first overseas tour to Zimbabwe taking place in 1999, followed by trips to South Africa in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2020, and Barbados in 2017 and 2024.

1874 cricKet xi (A g steel, stAnding 3rd right)

Netball Carolina R (L6)

Netball. A sport which is enjoyed by only 20 million people around the world. That is 400 times less than the world’s population and just under 200 times less supported than football.

Netball is the sport that first comes to mind when I am asked what my favourite sport is. And on numerous occasions have people responded “Netball? What’s that?”. I try and explain to them that “it is like basketball, but you cannot run with the ball” and almost every time they look confused and by the sound of that one sentence, they assume it is a very boring, dull and ‘dead’ sport. I’m not going to explain the rules and regulations of the sport as that is, in fact, very dull, and I’m sure you can find a 5-minute video in just a couple of seconds which will summarise it perfectly. Instead, I want to explore the history and evolution of this sport.

When I reply with my now more or less automated sentence “it is like basketball, but you cannot run with the ball”, I do partially speak the truth. In 1895, a year after basketball was invented, a sports teacher, Clara Baer, in New Orleans wrote to James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, and asked for a copy of the rules of basketball. He sent over a package which included a drawing of the court with lines drawn in pencil all over it. These lines were there as a prompt to where various players should best be situated. However, Baer misinterpreted these lines and instead believed they signified where players were fixed and highlighted zones that some players could not enter. From then on, this idea was then implemented and classified as ‘women’s basketball’. This consisted of the court being divided into three zones and played by five players. When this reached Britain, in the end, the threebounce dribbling idea simply ceased to exist. Further, when this was first taught in England in 1897, an American teacher decided to replace the basketball hoops with basic netted rings without backboards. This equipment and slight change in rules gave the sport a new name of netball. The court is still divided into three parts however is now played by seven people, not five.

As many of you will know, Australia’s most common girls’ sport is indeed netball. It was introduced to Australian women in the late 1980s and was first played in schools around Melbourne. It was initially played indoors, but soon after outdoor matches were also played. The games early growth was mainly due to the reason of easy construction of the courts, which were also not costly to maintain. From the start, netball was developed and progressed without male association: men were denied participation not only as players, but also as coaches and umpires. No one knows exactly why men were not allowed to take part in this game initially, however, some argue this has actually benefited its success. It was separated from any similarities that other men’s sport shared, making a name for itself and it did not pose any threats to men’s sporting domains or was never heavily overlooked.

Overall, netball is now a very popular sport across New Zealand, Australia, England and Jamaica and is now fortunately open to both male and female participation. Even though, I will most definitely still have to explain the sport when I do get asked that question sometime in the near future, it is certainly on the rise, with an encouraging 15% increase in memberships in just the past year.

Kasparov vs. the World

Imp P (Sh)

10120: The magnitude of this number surpasses the number of atoms in the observable universe. This number represents the staggering number of possible games in chess. It is calculated by Claude Shannon, an American Mathematician. Through these calculations, it was determined that a typical game would run roughly 40 moves and include an average of 103 possible moves for a pair of games that consisted of a move for White and a move for Black. Therefore, it was concluded that there are approximately 10120 possible games of chess. To put this into perspective after only just 4 moves there are already over 288 billion different possible positions, nearly triple the number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Within one of these endless options, a legendary game was played between Gary Kasparov and the World.

Gary Kasparov was a dominant chess player in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the World Chess Champion and regarded by many as the greatest chess player of all time. His aggressive playing style and strategic thinking made him a unique player. In this special match, instead of facing against a single Grand Master, he was up against more than 50,000 people from over 75 countries.

The game was played in 1999 over the internet. It was a consultation game, in which the World Team, consisting of thousands of chess players, including several Grand Masters, deciding the move of the black piece operating by plurality vote, while the white piece was only controlled by Gary Kasparov. This made it a truly global event, with chess enthusiasts across the globe sharing ideas and strategies against Kasparov.

The game proceeded move by move, with the world community discussing and deciding the best move possible against the unstoppable Gary Kasparov. The pace of the game was set to 12 hours for Kasparov to analyse and move, 12 hours for the analysts to see the move and write recommendations, 18 hours for the World Team to vote and discuss, and 6 hours to validate voting.

Despite the collective effort of the whole world, Gary Kasparov won on move 62 after what was a long and harsh 4 months of battle. Due to his deep understanding of and strategic thinking for the game, he was able to defeat the World. However, he commended them as a formidable opponent. Kasparov wrote that he had never expended as much effort on any other game in his life and later said, ‘It is the greatest game in the history of chess’.

Finally, through the immense and vast amount of information gathered through this single game of chess, it revolutionised and played a substantial role in advancing the popularity and the accessibility of chess. The match helped popularise online chess as a serious platform for competitive play. It demonstrated that high-level games could be played over the internet, paving the way for the growth of online chess communities and platform. Most importantly, the match is remembered as a landmark in the history of chess.

Monopoly

Lily I (Re)

Monopoly is todays third most bought and used board game with over 275 million sold. This has been done because of all the different themes and languages it has been adapted for to appeal to people’s different tastes. At the moment one can buy monopoly in over 100 countries.

Monopoly is known as a game of capitalism. It is known as the illustrated example because of the players competing to gather wealth and property. It continues and reaches extreme measures and exaggerates this as there is a large juxtaposition between the wealthy player and the player who is barely surviving with no money. At the same time, there are some aspects of Monopoly not being based on capitalism. For example, how the bank owns everything, everyone is given the same amount of money to start off with and the dice determines where one goes which doesn’t apply for us as we determine where we go.

Monopoly wasn’t sold in every country. Back then, the Soviet Union believed it promoted capitalist values. It also wasn’t being sold there back then. China also didn’t allow it as they believed it was going in the other direction to the communist ideals China wanted. Although today there are some available to buy and play today. Cuba also had the same views as these countries despite being small and not very powerful.

Monopoly was created in 1903 by an American woman called Lizzie Magie. She was anti-monopoly. Monopoly in economics is when a market structure is made up by one seller. It creates a wall for new sellers not allowing them to even compete making it unfair to them. She believed that the game would show exactly why people should support her belief. Back then Magie created two sets of rules one anti-monopolist (all were rewarded when money was made) and one monopolist (to create monopolies to crush opponents). This was also created in order for people to compare and figure out the differences and the negative impacts. There were many versions but each involved the process of buying land. Houses were added later on to create the cost of rent and increase the damage for the players who did not own as much land. Magie named the game The Landlord’s game.

In 1932, a man named Charles Darrow came to visit and play Magie’s game. He decided to distribute the game calling it by himself Monopoly instead of The Landlord’s game. The Parker Brothers bought it off Charles not knowing it was still under possession of Magie. As soon as they found out they paid her for what she owned. The Parker Brothers started distributing the game across the globe. In fact, the British had a Monopoly customised for World War II which contained maps and compasses that distracted many as it looked like it was part of the game. In the 1970’s, there was a case of a professor trying to copy Monopoly whilst the parent company of the Parker Brothers, Hasbro, still continued to hold ownership for the game. Hasbro today still owns Monopoly starting out with two versions to now having multiple different themes and versions for many Monopolies which is a reason why it is so popular today.

In conclusion, Monopoly is not just a board game that was created for entertainment. It is in the top 3 most played board games after chess and checkers. It is a way to educate people and also show them aspects of different problems.

The Power of Crosswords

Milly G (L6)

The crossword is a cognitively challenging word game where you are given clues and must write your answers in blank white squares both vertically and horizontally. It was originally invented on the 21st of December in 1913 by Arthur Wynne and was published in The New York World. Today it is played by many worldwide whether on a day-to-day basis or at major national crossword competitions. However, the power of crosswords is more than just a form of mediocre entertainment seen in the back of newspapers. Beyond its reputation as a game for the elderly, it wields fantastic cognitive benefits, enhances your learning, and provides a source of mental stability. The power of the crossword is not to be underestimated.

Firstly, crosswords challenge the brain. When given a set of clues your brain attempts to bring the information forward by making new connections. This increases your mental flexibility and mental agility. It requires astute thinking to complete a crossword and therefore the use of your brain. Ultimately the adage ‘practice makes perfect’ demonstrates what crosswords can do. The more you do them the more you will further develop your cognitive abilities. Cognitive abilities such as visual-spatial reasoning skills. These skills are essential for processing visual information and understanding the space the information takes up in our world. For instance, without basic or good visual-spatial reasoning skills, you wouldn’t be able to make your bed or tie shoelaces. Doing crosswords strengthens these fine skills. Another cognitive ability such as your memory can also benefit from doing the crossword. A study done by Columbia University showed that participants who played the crossword daily compared to participants who played video games daily had a far stronger memory and healthier brain scans. Essentially, puzzle-solving will lead to increased IQ, better thinking skills and increased mental agility.

Crosswords are also a fun way of learning. Teachers often use crosswords to strengthen their students’ learning of topics or concepts in lessons. They are easily customisable and encourage engagement in the classroom which encourages further learning. However, beyond lessons, crosswords provide other means of learning.

When doing a crossword, you are likely to be exposed to new or different words which increases your vocabulary. Learning more words means that you can improve your understanding of language, hence leading to much better communication skills with the people around you, allowing deeper connections to form. Crosswords can also encourage curiosity and curiosity is the road to growth and lifelong learning.

Aside from improving mental capabilities, learning crosswords can also provide a source of relief. It is a way of unwinding after a long day and relaxing. The focus you put into your crosswords means you stop focusing on your daily worries, so crosswords therefore promote relaxation and rest. In addition, crosswords can improve social bonds. The opportunity to compete, discuss or work together with friends and family strengthens those relationships. This in turn also provides mental relief as you focus on having fun. Crosswords are an impressive way of taking a muchneeded break in your day whilst simultaneously building your cognitive abilities.

In conclusion, crosswords may often be underestimated and seen as just a mere game but the reality is much more. Its influence stretches across all ages, all the while promoting a lifelong enthusiasm for learning. Crosswords hold almost as much power to your brain as an FDA-approved drug for increasing your memory does. The power of crosswords should not be underestimated as we move into the modern day of fast-paced technology. The crossword will always have a significant place amongst the games in our world.

The Maths of Monopoly

Ben A (L6)

In The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus1 (2016), Hannah Fry and Thomas Oléran Evans discuss the mathematics behind how to win at Monopoly. They explain that “The key to success in Monopoly is noticing that not all properties are created equal”, and that, more specifically, knowing which sets give you a better return than others is the “ticket to board-game glory”. Fry goes further in her discussion with Matt Parker in Stand-up Maths2 where she compares her mathematically calculated values with Parker’s computer-generated statistics. She explains that by working from first principles and by modelling a matrix of the possible dice rolls and their respective movements, she could construct a Markov Chain to calculate the probability of being on any space on the board at any point in the game. Parker, by contrast, used Python to code a model and generated the results from a million games of play to formulate his probabilities. Although entirely different methods, the two discuss the similarities in their data, along with the pros and cons of each method. Whilst Parker’s coding method was more time-efficient, Fry responds by claiming that “it’s just nice to get your hands dirty with a bit of matrix multiplication”. Keen to develop a better understanding of matrices, to support my study of Further Maths, I explored Fry’s method, researching matrices and Markov Chains.

The author of Exploring Maths 3 defines a Markov Chain as a “system where [one can] move randomly between states and where [they] go next depends only on where [they] are now and not on where [they] have been”. He goes further to highlight the phenomenon that “Markov chains gradually forget where [one] started and converge to a Stationary Distribution”.

This can be explained with a simple example, see figure 1. There are two states (A and B), where there are different probabilities of transitioning from one state to another; A to B, A back to A, B to A and B to B. These can then be represented by a Transition Matrix (M) which shows the probabilities of going from one state to another:

If one starts at space A then in the first state, S0, there is a 100% probability of being at space A (1) and a 0% chance of being at space B (0).

This can be represented by what is known as a Row Vector: S0 = [1 0]

To calculate the probability of being at either space in the second state, S1, it is necessary to multiply the row vector, S0 , by the transition matrix, M, in order to find S1.

1 = S0 x M

1 = [1 0] x [ 0.4 0.6 ] = [0.4 0.6] 0.7 0.3

It is possible to then repeat this process to find S2, S3, etc. S2 = S1 x M

2 = [0.4 0.6] x [ 0.4 0.6 ] =[0.58 0.2] 0.7 0.3

Which can lead to formulating the equation:

+1 = Sn x M

Reading further, the Markov Chain above is described as Ergodic, meaning that because the system is irreducible, aperiodic and finite 4, it will eventually reach a stationary distribution of probabilities after enough transitions. This means that once this process is repeated, of multiplying the row vector by the transition matrix, one will end up reproducing the same or almost the same row vector.

For the example above, the point at which the stationary distribution is achieved is S19, and therefore after 19, 20, 21 or 22 transitions, the probability of being on A is always 7/13 (0.53846154) and the probability of being on B is 6/13 (0.46153846). These calculations can be done very quickly using the Matrix Multiplication tool or MMULT function in Microsoft Excel, see figure 2.

2

The graph also reinforces the construct of a stationary distribution.

S x M = S and moreover Sn+1 = Sn

While it is tempting here to suggest that M = 1, one should instead draw similarity to the Eigenvalue Equation as seen below:

Where I is a transition matrix, ω is a vector and λ is the eigenvalue.

Connecting these two equations, one can assume I is similar to M (both transition matrices) and ω is similar to S (both vectors). This simply leaves the eigenvalue λ, and since our equation has no equivalent, it is stated that the eigenvalue for the example is 1 or λ=1. This is, in fact, a characteristic of all Ergodic Markov chains, that they have an eigenvalue of 15.

1 www.youtube.com. (n.d.). The Mathematics of Winning Monopoly - YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubQXz5RBBtU [Accessed 24 Oct. 2023].

2 www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Which Monopoly Properties are the Best? | Understanding Markov Chains. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9IS9ffadC8&list=PLGK1PxSwNR7W9PJGRx1w5CyCXRBSTXbPX&index=5 [Accessed 24 Oct. 2023].

3 www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Monopoly: The Mathematical Secret Behind Winning. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FP8Owdt2WY&list=PLGK1PxSwNR7W9PJGRx1w5CyCXRBSTXbPX&index=3 [Accessed 25 Oct. 2023].

4 www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Eigenvectors and eigenvalues | Chapter 14, Essence of linear algebra. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFDu9oVAE-g&list=PLGK1PxSwNR7W9PJGRx1w5CyCXRBSTXbPX&index=8 [Accessed 25 Oct. 2023].

figure

Knowing all of this is important as it is useful in calculating the different probabilities of landing on particular properties on the Monopoly board. Recognising that a Monopoly board can also be modelled as an Ergodic Markov Chain, we can expand the simple example that consists of just two spaces, A and B, to a 40-spaceMonopoly board where all players begin at space 0 – Go. This means that the transition matrix goes from being 2 by 2 (having 4 values) to being 40 by 40 (having 1600 values).

If this game were simple, where a player could only move by rolling two six-sided dice and there were no other factors, then over time there would be an equal chance of landing on every square on the board, a probability of 1/40. When two six-sided dice are rolled, it is possible to obtain any number between 2 and 12 inclusive. However, the probability of rolling any of these 11 integers is not equal, due to the different possible ways to make each number. The most likely sum to roll is 7, as there are 6 different ways of making it with our given dice, and the least likely to roll are 2 and 12, as they only have one possible combination with our given dice. This is shown in figure 3.

So, the chances of rolling each sum are as follows:

figure 3

With that, and exploring the first roll of the game, this would suggest that the probabilities of landing on spaces between Go and the Electric Company are shown in figure 4.

figure 4

However, Monopoly is not quite that straightforward because there are two additional ways that a player can move around the board. These include moves through the Chance and Community Chest cards, cards drawn when a player lands on one of the three squares assigned to each category, and through the GO TO JAIL square, which sends players directly to Jail. I will consider each of these transitions and their respective probabilities in turn.

Chance and Community Chest cards

Both decks contain 16 cards each, meaning that if a player draws a Chance card, they have a 1/16 chance of drawing a specific card. There are 7 Chance cards out of the 16 that alter a player’s position on the board but only 3 Community Chest cards out of the 16 - the remaining cards simply contain monetary fines or benefits, exchanges or such as a fine or a birthday. These movements are summarised in figure 5

5

This means that if a player lands on a Chance space, they have a 7/16 chance of moving from that space and a 9/16 chance of staying on the space. Likewise, if a player lands on a Community Chest space, they have a 3/16 of moving and a 13/16 of staying on that space. Now the probabilities of ending a player’s roll onto all the Chance spaces in the transition matrix can be altered by multiplying each of our existing probabilities by 9/16. The same can be done for the Community Chest spaces by multiplying the existing probabilities by 13/16.

If a player is leaving a Chance or Community Chest space, this means that they have a 1/16 chance of going to any of the possible spaces that the cards can tell the player to move to. If a player lands on a Chance space, they have a 9/16 chance of staying on that space, a 1/16 chance of going to Marylebone Station, Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall, Mayfair, Go, GO TO JAIL, or another 1/16 chance of going back 3 spaces. The same case applies to Old Kent Road, Go and GO TO JAIL for the Community Chest cards. Therefore, the probabilities of going to these locations are altered. Taking this into account, figure 6 illustrates the actual statistical distribution of landing on the various possible spaces on a player’s first turn.

6

figure

figure

Go to Jail

When a player lands on the space GO TO JAIL, they are instantly transported to Jail. For example, if a player is on Fenchurch Street Station, they have a 1/9 chance of rolling a 5 to land on GO TO JAIL, but instead of ending their roll on the space GO TO JAIL, they end their space in Jail, so they have a 1/9 chance of going from Fenchurch Street Station to Jail. Since a player cannot end their roll on the GO TO JAIL space, all the probabilities of ending their roll there are 0, similarly, one therefore cannot begin a roll on GO TO JAIL either, meaning that all the probabilities of going to any space from GO TO JAIL are 0. However, as the total probability of leaving any space must equal 1 as a player must always move, I have chosen to show this as when one begins their roll on GO TO JAIL, they have a 100% chance (a chance of 1) of going to Jail.

Factoring these considerations into the transition matrix, π, it is possible to calculate the probability of being on any space, on any turn, throughout the game. As every player always begins the game on Go, the first row vector is a one followed by 39 zeros as there is a 100% chance of beginning every players’ first roll at space 1, Go

n0 = [1 0 0 0…0 0]

(This is one ‘1’ entry followed by 39 ‘0’ entries)

Taking the formula derived earlier and applying it to this Monopoly situation, one can produce this formula:

Using this expression, it is possible to calculate the stationary distribution by, once again, using the MMULT function on Microsoft Excel. This data is highlighted below, in figure 7

From this data, one can see that once the stationary distribution converges, the most likely space for a player to end their roll on is Jail, with approximately a 5.9% chance, so this is ranked #1. GO TO JAIL is the least likely space for a player to end up, with a 0% chance, so it is ranked #40. figure 7

This data can also be represented graphically, as in figure 8

Using the probabilities from the table on the left, figure 9, the average probability of landing on each colour set can be calculated. This is important as to build houses and increase rent levels, a player must own the entire set.

Figure 10, below, illustrates that the podium of property sets on which a player is most likely to land are the Orange set in first place, the Red set, second, and then the Yellow set. As the most landed on space is Jail, logically when a player rolls the dice to leave Jail, they will usually end up on the spaces 6, 7 or 8 spaces after Jail, as these are the most likely sums of rolling two six-sided dice. This suggests that the set on which any player is most likely to land is the Orange set.

Having calculated which sets are most landed on, one must now factor in respective Rent Levels and costs in order to determine the best set to own. What constitutes the best set is determined by how quickly a player can recoup their costs and begin to make a profit.

Figure 11 shows the Purchase Price of an entire set and an equal number of houses on each property. For example, it costs £2,150 to own all three Yellow properties and to buy three houses on each property. The utilities and the stations are in a separate table as their amount of rent increases with the more properties owned. No houses or hotels can be purchased on any of these 6 properties.

Figure 12 illustrates the Total Return given from each set when a player receives one share of rent from each property in that set. For example, if a player receives rent payment from Pall Mall with two houses, Whitehall with two houses and Northumberland Avenue with two houses, they will have collected £480.

Since the rent on the utilities relies on the roll produced to get there, this table shows the monetary values received on the basis that a 7 is rolled as this is the most likely dice roll.

By multiplying the Total Return values by the average probabilities of landing on these sets, one can see the average monetary Return per Roll. Obviously, a player won’t collect this money every turn, as that is not how the game works, but this data is useful as one can see which properties generate the most income over the course of the game. With that, figure 13., below, creates a picture of which sets will generate the greatest income. The most income per roll is generated by the Green set but this is also the most expensive set to purchase and raise hotels on.

From these data points, one can calculate the number of rolls required for a player to raise their money back so that they can begin to profit from their investment. This is calculated by dividing the Purchase Price by the Return per Roll. This is illustrated in figure 14.

These values clearly show that the properties with the Orange set will break even first and so should be a great investment, especially in a shorter game with fewer players. A short game constitutes fewer than 100 turns per player.

Going further, it is possible to plot the expected return from each set on a graph. This is shown below in figure 15.

Looking at this graph, one can see that the Orange set breaks even in the fewest number of rolls, crossing the x-axis at the lowest x-value. The Orange set remains the strongest investment for the first 103 rolls. However, from the 103rd rolls to the 105th rolls, the Yellow set takes the lead very briefly, before being surpassed by the Green set, which soars into the winning position of the most profitable set per roll beyond 106 rolls.

In conclusion, this graph indicates that the best strategy to win at Monopoly is to;

■ When playing against one opponent, secure and build up the Orange and Sky Blue sets, preferably both, and attempt to end the game in fewer than 40 rolls.

■ When playing against two or three opponents, secure and build up the Orange and Red sets, preferably both, and attempt to end the game in fewer than 100 rolls.

■ When playing against four or more opponents, secure and build up the Green and Yellow sets, preferably both. Here you should attempt to maintain liquidity beyond 105 rolls.

■ Remember also that the number of houses is limited, so when building your monopoly try to secure three houses as quickly as possible. This serves not only to increase the speed of your return but will also prevent the progress of your opponents.

■ Avoid the Utilities, they are completely pointless.

Bibliography

Hannah Fry. (n.d.). The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus. [online] Available at: https://hannahfry.co.uk/book/the-indisputable-existence-of-santa-claus/ [Accessed 18 Oct. 2023].

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Markov Chains Clearly Explained! Part - 1. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3AkTO9HLXo&list=PLGK1PxSwNR7W9PJGRx1w5CyCXRBSTXbPX&index=3 [Accessed 25 Oct. 2023].

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). What’s the best way to win at Monopoly? [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvuYH7ldfkg&list=PLGK1PxSwNR7W9PJGRx1w5CyCXRBSTXbPX&index=5 [Accessed 25 Oct. 2023].

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Markov Chains & Transition Matrices. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GKtfgwf3ig&list=PLGK1PxSwNR7W9PJGRx1w5CyCXRBSTXbPX&index=6 [Accessed 25 Oct. 2023].

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Dominating Monopoly Using Markov Chains. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh5r0a23TO4&list=PLGK1PxSwNR7W9PJGRx1w5CyCXRBSTXbPX&index=10 [Accessed 26 Oct. 2023].

www.youtube.com. (n.d.). Monte Carlo Simulation. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ESK5SaP-bc&list=PLGK1PxSwNR7W9PJGRx1w5CyCXRBSTXbPX&index=7 [Accessed 27 Oct. 2023].

The Applause

Elliot R (L6)

In 1917, Russia saw great change. Russia had abolished the monarchy and taken up a socialist government after two revolutions and a bloody civil war. After the revolution in February, Tsar Nicholas III agreed to step down to ease the tension and the Provisional Government was put in place. In October, the height of the Russian Revolution was reached with Vladimir Lenin’s far-left Bolshevik Party overthrowing the Provisional Government. They established their own government: the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). The revolutionary period continued up until 1923 with the Bolsheviks facing resistance from their enemies known as the White Army. Eventually, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed, and the Bolshevik Party would remain in power until 1991 when the Soviet Union was dissolved.

Communism is a far-left ideology in which all property is owned by the community, and everything is distributed “from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”, which is a slogan made popular by Karl Marx in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Programme. Critics of communism argue that communism has often led to totalitarian regimes such as the Soviet Union and various other dictatorships such as in China. They also claim that the system itself, even if it were successfully reached without totalitarianism, would go against our very human nature. Some would argue that due to the lack of material incentive, innovation may diminish, and society may collapse. Of course, communism has its responses to these criticisms, but I won’t discuss them here.

After World War II, the victorious sides emerged with contrasting ideologies; Great Britain and the US were capitalist whilst the USSR was communist. In 1947, the Truman Doctrine was created in order to stop the spread of communism worldwide as the US viewed it as a dangerous ideology and didn’t want the USSR’s power over Europe growing further. The conflicting ideologies led to major tensions between the world’s great powers and was one of the most significant factors in causing the Cold War.

During the Cold War in 1972, the World Chess Championship was played between Boris Spassky and Robert James Fischer in Reykjavík, Iceland. This match was a major event in the context of the Cold War, as the Soviets were particularly strong in chess. In fact, the Soviets dominated the chess world so much that the last 10 World Chess Championships had been won by Soviet players. This game was a metaphor for the tensions between the East and the West. This symbolism is reflected in the way Bobby Fischer describes chess: “Chess is a war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent’s mind”.

Boris spAssKy And roBert JAmes fischer

In the sixth game, Fischer opened with 1.c4 (instead of his usual 1.e4) for only the third time in a serious game. This led to a position that Fischer himself had criticised and described as an inferior position for white, so we can only speculate as to why he played this opening move. For many players, it may have been an attempt to gain a psychological advantage by throwing off the opponent, but this seems unlikely in Fischer’s case. He famously said, “I don’t believe in psychology, I believe in good moves”. The game then proceeded in a Queen’s Gambit Declined, Tartakower Defence where Bobby played a slower style of chess to how he normally played. Ironically, it was more in the spirit of a ‘Soviet’ player than Fischer. Spassky, on the other hand, made many mistakes until, what was a drawn position, ended up being a win for Fischer. And after this win, which put Fischer ahead in the match for the first time, Spassky stood up and joined in with the audience in giving Fischer a round of applause.

This game of chess is now one of the most famous in history. Why I find this so interesting, is because you can almost sense the historical tensions going on at the time by simply studying the moves of the chess game. From the very first move, it doesn’t feel like Bobby Fischer playing with the white pieces and Spassky as black isn’t playing with the precision which was typical of a ‘Soviet’ player. This demonstrates the impact of war on individuals. Whilst I am only speculating, I think it is sensible to assume that the cause of Fischer’s timidness and Spassky’s mistakes was the global politics interfering with the “war over the board”.

More importantly, Spassky’s applause at the end of the game was almost like the destruction of a barrier between the two nations. The beautiful game of chess allowed Spassky to see past the political tensions and congratulate his opponent on his good play. Fischer received this well and complemented Spassky on his sportsmanship. So, in times of political tension like today, remember this game of chess. See past the wars and hate and appreciate the beauty of the world, just as Spassky could appreciate the beauty of the game of chess, even in the face of defeat.

The Universality of Medieval Chess

Mr O S L Triggs (CR, Philosophy and Religious Studies Department)

In only the span of a few centuries, the game of chess grew out of its predecessor chaturanga in Northern India and was soon in the far reaches of northern Scotland, travelling along various circuits of exchange through the Middle East and Europe from roughly 600 C.E. to 1000 C.E.

Covering such vast distances during this period, known to some as the Global Middle Ages, is a feat unto itself, inviting us to imagine the veritable cultural sensation that chess must have been in the medieval world. Over the next five hundred years (up until, effectively, the Renaissance), the game of chess became a cultural touchstone across the medieval world. For some, it was a game of wits, for others, a game of kings, and for others still, a metaphor for society and its proper order. Learning the game was instrumental to a knight’s education, and it was one of the few pursuits available to women in the aristocratic court. Marital disputes over chess – namely, the husband spending too much of his time playing the game – survive in Genoese court documents, as do church edicts that lambast the game as an impious activity. Constantly reappearing in literary and material cultures of the past, chess becomes something of a chameleon: a vehicle through which contemporary people sought to make sense of the world and render it for others, and in so doing making it a fascinating source of study for scholars searching for a window onto the past. Exploring, too, the ways in which the game evolved as it encountered new cultural contexts illuminates the nature of exchange and assimilation in the premodern period.

Growing the Game and Crossing Cultures

It is important to highlight that during the time of chess’s intense spread across the world, there was no standardised ruleset – regional variations took hold, both materially (in the design of the pieces) and in the rules of the game, which highlights chess’s role as something of a newcomer: once introduced, it was adapted into more legible local forms.

Early historians of chess set out to chart these variations that resulted in the eventual ruleset with which we play today. They focus, most notably, on the evolution of what we now call the Queen. In the original game of chaturanga, the piece was called firz, meaning counsellor, just as what we call “Queen” is still called “wazïr” (or vizier) in Arabic. In the early versions of the game, then, there was no feminine piece: it was more of a king’s advisor or assistant. The differences do not end there – only (relatively) recently has the piece gained the immense power it now has. Originally, it could still move in any direction, but just one space, as the King does now. Scholars have speculated about the reasons for these changes, both in the name and the ability of the piece, and the prevailing argument suggests that the game originally was analogous to the battlefield, a wargame. As the game was assimilated into European monarchical traditions, it shed some of its warring connotations and became a representation for the European state (and, as we will see later, its proper hierarchy).

As mentioned previously, chess offers a fascinating window onto earlier cross-cultural contact and exchange, visible through one of Britain’s great national artifacts. The Lewis Chessmen, the majority of which are housed in the British Museum, are a collection of 93 chess pieces found on the Isle of Lewis, each carved with a unique individuality. What is particularly compelling about the Chessmen, though, is the way in which they recall Scandinavian iconography and style of pieces from the earlier Viking game of tafl. The elaborate ivory carvings enact a level of detail that is specific to the time and place of their creation

– the rook, pictured here on the far right, is thought to recall the Norse “berserker,” their teeth chomping at the bit to enter battle.

A 13th century Castilian illuminated manuscript offers further insight into the nature of assimilation and exchange, albeit in a very different context. The Libro del ajedrez was a spectacularly decorated book made for Alfonso X’s court in Castile, but what makes it particularly interesting is that its illustrations are chess puzzles, each of which are accompanied by drawings and commentary. The scenes are narrativised and portray a wide variety of people playing – men and women, Muslims, Christians, and Jews, children are all featured, sometimes asymmetrically, meaning that men might play women, Christians might play Muslims, and so on. Olivia Constable, who studies the Libro in her 2007 work, argues that the manuscript illustrates a new Iberian aesthetic. In the image here, the background will immediately be familiar to anyone who has visited the Iberian Peninsula and its characteristic arches. Constable writes that even the chess puzzles themselves are both Muslim and Christian in nature, as the two communities had identifiably different styles of play. Furthermore, some of the artistic elements throughout the book are highly suggestive of a strong Muslim influence if not creation, which is illustrative of a strong degree of interreligious interaction.

In these two examples – the Lewis Chessmen and the Libro del ajedrez – we can see not only chess’s universal appeal in the medieval world, but also how chess was incorporated into already-existing cultures of creation as well as being a vessel for new, cross-cultural aesthetics.

How to Live Your Life According to Chess

As chess spread throughout the medieval world and became entrenched in contemporary culture, it became a powerful literary device. Certain examples are not particularly subtle: the Stanzaic Guy of Warwick (c. 1300) features a tale in which a sultan visits the land of a prince, and challenges him to a friendly game of chess. Shortly thereafter, the game gets out of hand, and the Sultan uses a piece from the board to attack the prince, and the prince, angered, bludgeons the Sultan to death with the chessboard. An extreme example, but the ensuing division between the polities featured in the story (and their eventual reconciliation through, again, a game of chess) underlines how chess was “the game of kings” and in the foreground of political struggles. Jacques de Cessoles, and his De ludo saccorum, emphasise the proper ordering of society as it is seen on the chessboard: the king, of course, being of the utmost importance, and the other pieces taking on specific roles that reflects a) its duty to the king and b) its subordinate position and c) its importance to the smooth functioning of society. Taking this into account, certain chess moves, like “pinning,” where a piece cannot move for fear of leaving its King exposed to check, gain new symbolic value, and start sending us messages about how we (and society) should operate.

Finally, we have an example that is explicitly didactic, that is, intended to instruct us in some moral way. Le je des esches de la dame moralisée, coming from the late fifteenth century, recounts a game of chess being played between A Lady and The Devil. The story recounts move-by-move (!) the evolution of the game and each piece on the board (save one) is named, giving each of its movements a moral resonance. As you can see, the pieces are named with virtues and sins in mind – the Lady playing with pieces like Honesty and Loyalty, and the Devil using Ambition and Blasphemy. The game ends with the Lady checking the Devil’s King (Pride) with her Queen (Humility) and eventually check-mating with her pawn (Love of God). For readers, the message of how to live as a good Christian could not be clearer – the author is furnishing them with specific instructions on how to live well and avoid sin.

Conclusion

The medieval world of chess makes clear just how much is at stake when we play games, and their prevalence in our society. These objects – be they exquisitely carved ivory chess pieces made from walrus tusks or a beautifullyilluminated manuscript that harkens a new cross-cultural aesthetic – tell us a great deal about the people and societies that created them. We are invited to marvel at how longstanding aesthetic traditions incorporate a game that captured the imaginations of so many in the medieval world, or indeed how the game itself could be a chance for exchange and assimilation.

The stories that people told, using chess as a literary device to broadcast their beliefs or highlight some element of human nature, encourage us to think about the very same in our contemporary moment. How do games today help bring us together, sometimes bridging previously fractious divides? How can the games we play, or stories we tell about them – for instance, Squid Game or The Hunger Games that others have chosen to highlight in this publication – shed light on what our society values, or indeed what it does not?

Charting the history of chess in this way invites us to think about all the other games which shape our cultures and values, highlighting the timeless role of play in human society and its profound role as a vehicle for connection, expression, and understanding.

Has Monopoly been successful in terms of its original objectives?

Tilly G (L6)

Monopoly, a multiplayer real estate board game, has been competitively played between family and friends for over a century. Players aim to conquer the board by remaining financially stable and driving their opponents into bankruptcy. The game is finished once there is single ‘monopolist’, the winner, who dominates and controls the board without competition. ‘Monopoly’, in real life terms, describes a market with the absence of competition leading to an individual or enterprise dominating the market. This tactical yet chance-based game reflects the unfairness of the economic systems in the modern world. Monopoly is a now worldwide success with over 1 billion people having played it. However, what were its true objectives?

The concept was first created by Elizabeth (or Lizzie) Magie in 1904 who aimed to demonstrate the dangers of capitalism in the USA to players. Magie, born in 1866, was a feminist who rebelled against the social norms and politics of her time. Magie decided to expose the capitalist system of property ownership at the time not through a political stunt but instead through her handmade board game The Landlord’s Game. Her passion for the destruction of the capitalist machine of America’s society was inspired by a book that her father, the anti-monopolist politician James Magie, had given to her. Henry George’s book Progress and Poverty (1879) motivated Magie by the conviction that “the equal right of all men to use land is as clear as their equal rights to breath the air – it is a right proclaimed the fact of their existence”. George argued that the value of land comes not from what is built on the plot but from nature’s gift of what is beneath the surface and by the public amenities within its surroundings such as schools, roads, and hospitals. Therefore, the community should actually receive taxes for the use of the land as everyone shares equal rights to it. George’s economic theories, particularly about taxation, drove Magie to create her game.

Magie’s original patented game, The Landlord’s Game, involved two sets of rules; the ‘Prosperity’ set of rules and the ‘Monopolist’ set of rules. The ‘Prosperity’ set of rules meant that every player was a winner, as every player gained each time someone bought a new property. This reflected George’s policy of taxing the value of the land. In contrast, under the “Monopolist’ set of rules, players would buy properties and collect rent from their opponents who unluckily landed on them. Therefore, whoever manages to bankrupt the other players is the winner as the single dominating power who controls all the properties. The dual set of rules importantly demonstrated to players a realistic portrayal of the current system’s usual outcomes and consequences. Using these rules Magie displays how there is an unfair divide between those who succeed, ‘the winners’, and those who fail financially, ‘the losers’.

The game Monopoly, as we know it today, was first publicly patented in the USA in 1935 by the games company called Parker Brothers. Magie’s game had become popular amongst Left-wing intellectuals and the Quaker community who had twisted and modified the rules of the game. A man called Charles Darrow, a

player of the Quaker adaptation of the game, controversially sold this modified version of the game as his own original idea to the Parker Brothers. This new game took Magie’s ‘Monopolist’ set of rules as the Parker Brothers believed that the public would be more drawn to the idea of triumph of one overall, as during the 1930s, the USA was recovering from the Great Depression. The Parker Brothers quickly bought off Magie’s patent for $500 once the true origins were revealed publicly. Controversially, Darrow went on to become a millionaire as the ‘inventor’ of the Monopoly game - a fact which seems a bit unfair given the original intentions of Magie who fundamentally disapproved of the capitalistic winner takes all mentality which was so prevalent in the USA. Darrow’s rags to riches fabrication comparing to Magie’s paltry payment of $500 because of the game’s success ironically imply the values of Monopoly: to chase wealth and crush your opponents if you want to come out on top.

It could be argued that Monopoly, now a worldwide Hasbro franchise since 1991, has betrayed Magie’s initial aims. As now there are over 275 million games which have been sold in over 111 different countries and have been translated into 43 different languages. I believe Magie would be outraged with the worldwide success her game has achieved as they all rely on, and celebrate, capitalistic values.

Furthermore, Magie would be shocked by the extreme prices, in the capitalist market, made as ‘special edition’ or ‘collectors’ Monopoly boards. The most expensive board reputedly cost $2 million to create. This treasured monopoly board, now exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum, is made of 23-carat gold with rubies and sapphires decorating the houses and hotels. Lastly, the absence of the more socialist ‘Prosperity’ set of rules defeats Magie’s original objectives of creating a sense of ‘everyone’s a winner’.

The History of playing cards

Tirion L (L6)

Throughout the world, playing cards has been used as a source of entertainment for centuries, dating back to potentially as early as the nineth century, where they are believed to have originated in China during the era of the Tang Dynasty. Although we now think of playing cards as a deck of 52 cards consisting of spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds, they most certainly did not begin in such a way, obtaining this form as a result of a journey spanning hundreds of years and countless cultural adaptations.

The exact origin of playing cards is incredibly difficult to determine, with limited solid evidence to go off due to the fragile nature of paper, which was used to create their original form. This mystery continues to be the subject of debate among scholars, with many theories based largely on speculation alone. However, historical evidence does suggest that their first creation was in China, during the era of the Tang Dynasty. Whilst we cannot be entirely sure of what their exact use was or what they actually looked like, it is believed that there was a variety of different types, each with varying intended uses. One idea suggests that a form of cards was created for a game of ‘wine cards’, a drinking game from the Tang Dynasty involving rice wine. Other ideas suggest that playing cards could have potentially served as ‘play money’ for use in gambling games, before eventually transforming into games of their own. However, such theories are entirely speculative, and we cannot know their original use for certain.

The concept of using cards for entertainment slowly spread into other parts of Asia, including India and Persia, before beginning to appear in Europe in the late 1300s and early 1400s. The earliest confirmed record of playing cards was found in a manuscript written by a German monk called Johannes in 1377, whilst he lived in a Swiss monastery. In the 1400s, playing cards was often seen amongst dice games, and evidence suggests that a 52-card deck was being used by this time. These first European cards were hand-painted and therefore considered to be luxury goods, used mainly by the upper class and those who could afford them. In these decks, suit signs consisted of swords, clubs, cups, and coins, likely originating in Italy, and such suits can still be found on playing cards in Spain and Italy to this day. In the fifteenth century, when the invention of wood-block printing allowed for rapid and cheap production of playing cards, they quickly spread throughout Europe as a result of their popularity amongst soldiers, becoming far more accessible to people

of all status. This led Germany to eventually become the leading manufacturer of playing cards, replacing the previous Italian suits with acorns, leaves, hearts, and bells.

Throughout the early fifteenth century, the French took on their own adaptation of playing cards, transforming the suits into the ones we know today: hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs, dividing the four suits into red and black and simplifying their symbols. These newly adapted French playing cards rapidly took over the German dominance of the industry, spreading their newfound form all over Europe. Due to the introduction of tax on playing cards, card makers emigrated from France to Belgium, where playing cards then found their way across the channel to England, with the first English reference to playing cards being in 1462, when they were banned by parliamentary decree. Later on, the extensive colonialism of England and France brought these cards to many corners of the world, ultimately resulting in the widespread usage of this exact style of playing cards, being the most commonly used style to this day.

Boxing clever Leo F (L6)

Beyond the strategic battles within the ring lies an equally intricate world of complexities that shape the business side of boxing. The intertwined acts of negotiations, promotion, risk management, timing and legal disputes are all pawns in a chess game that ultimately determine the fate of some of the world’s most anticipated fights. It is the care and skill with which these pieces are moved that determine whether a bout becomes a cultural spectacle or whether boxing fans are left disappointed as a result of major fights falling through.

Negotiations in the world of pugilism are akin to those occurring in any aspect of life. Two boxers simply agreeing to fight is the easy part; the challenge lies in determining the conditions in which they do so. Pride and self-esteem are often sticking points, with each fighter competing for the coveted ‘A Side’ status – demanding a larger proportion of the purse and top billing in promotional materials. It is therefore the responsibility of the promotors and managers to encourage collaboration between the two fighters and a willingness for them to compromise. Whether it is sacrificing a prominent name placement on a poster for the sake of entering the ring second, negotiations involve give-andtake until each team is satisfied. Unfortunately, the fighters are not always willing to compromise and if they do not feel content with the deal being made then they will often walk away. This can lead to a stalemate in the negotiation game and the fight collapsing.

Promotion is another crucial aspect of the boxing business. Promotors are initially responsible for the organisation of the venue logistics, timings, staff and sponsor investments in order to guarantee the smoothrunning of the event. Once these components are firmly in place, the promotor’s role then shifts and involves selling the fight. This includes orchestrating press conferences, handling media responsibilities and ensuring a captivating build up to maximise the number of in-person attendances and pay-perview purchases. Promotors have skin in the game and generally earn around 20-25% of their fighter’s purse. It is therefore in their best interests to negotiate the best deal possible for their fighter and maximise viewership in order to boost their earnings.

In boxing, a singular punch can either propel a fighter to glory or plunge them into a career-ending setback. As a result, promotors and managers have the crucial responsibility of managing risk by guiding their fighters to make decisions aligned with their career trajectory. Knowing when to take fights based on form and experience is vital – in the early days of a pugilist’s career, it makes sense to fight weaker opponents and build up a record, allowing for more challenging and rewarding bouts to be taken later down the line. It is all a fine balance of pursuing financial rewards and greatness, whilst also doing what is necessary to prioritise the longevity and welfare of the fighter. From a promotional point of view, timing is also crucial as fights must not clash with other major sporting events but coincide with peak public interest and media coverage. Clever game management of these factors helps to boost the audience and augment monetary reward.

Legal agreements in boxing are essential given the sport’s historical reputation of corruption. With four different governing bodies rather than one centralised one, events are tied to individual promoters and boxing commissions. It is the responsibility of the legal teams to lay out ground rules and ensure that the fighters both understand and adhere to the variable regulations set out by the different boxing bodies. In addition to this, legal professionals negotiate and draft the legal contracts between the fighter, their opponent and their promotor.

The business of boxing is a complex system made up of negotiation, promotion, risk management, timing and legal matters. Each of these are games within their own rights and must be expertly and delicately played in order to manipulate them for the maximum benefit. By understanding the intricate business mechanisms that make up a fight, it becomes very evident that boxing extends beyond the ring and unfolds just as much in boardrooms and around negotiation tables.

The History of Fencing

Lottie J (L6)

Modern fencing today is seen in many high-level competitions, such as the Olympics, where athletes showcase their talent and skill. But how similar are these skills to those of the ancient weapons that inspired the sport? Fencing has three distinct weapons: foil, epee and sabre, each with its own unique rules and technique spanning from their distinct uses in the past. In this article, I will highlight the historical importance of this game and how that influences the modern rules.

Epee was an important weapon in the past. When your honour was tainted, duels would be fought with epees to regain pride or settle disputes. Typically, these would continue until one protagonist was injured or had fallen, at which point the victor would drive a dagger through a hole in their armour unless asked for mercy. This could be used to settle all kinds of impersonal disagreements as well, such as in 1085 when a duel was used to determine whether the Latin or Mozarabic rite should be read in the liturgy at Toledo, Spain, which was won by Ruiz de Mastanza, fighting for the Mozarabic rite. Duels could also be used in a legal setting. Judicial duels or trials by battle were used when a man stood accused of a crime but denied it, to let God decide if the accuser or the accused was lying. This used to be achieved through solemn affirmation (swearing oaths) but this was easily manipulated through lying or dishonest clergymen. The judge determined the time and place of the duel and both fighters had to leave deposits to ensure they would appear to fight. It was thought that God wouldn’t let the man defending truth be injured or beaten, so the loser was then declared guilty and subjected to punishment under the law. This form of trial was used for all free men and in some circumstances serfs but clergymen, women, ill people and men under 20 or over 60 years old could be exempt from the trial. You could sometimes choose a great fighter to stand in your place but if he failed, both you and him would be subjected to punishment. Judicial duels were introduced to England in the 11th century by William I but it was outlawed again in 1819. This historical use is clearly seen in the design of the modern epee, which is the biggest and heaviest of the three swords, made for great swordsmen to decisively prove their honour and end those who opposed them. The rules of epee also reflect this as hits to any part of the body count and hits can be scored by both fencers simultaneously, just as one could in a true duel.

Foil however played a support role. This was the practice sword, used to train young men for the duels in their futures. These started to become common in the 16th century, when rapier became popular for civilians. The use of foil as a practice weapon was first mentioned by Italian fencing master Viggiani in 1550, calling foils “arme di gioco” or “weapons of play”, showing that they were designed for safe training rather than defending your honour. Shakespeare even wrote “the fencer’s foiles, which hit, but hurt not”. This is reflected in the current design, as foils are the smallest and lightest weapons so wouldn’t hurt anyone in training, leaving them fit to fight another day. Foil also has a reduced target as you can only hit the torso, which is a poor tactic for a battle but a great training technique to hone your accuracy.

Sabre was a military weapon, used by the cavalry. It is thought to be derived from a Hungarian weapon that was introduced in the 18th century and adopted by cavalry. The sabre was helpful as it was light and designed for slashing rather than direct hits, so was convenient for slashing at foot soldiers from horseback and killing quickly. British soldiers were trained to aim at the face to maim or kill or the arms to disable their opponents with a cut, leaving many enemy soldiers mutilated beyond repair. The French cavalry however favoured the thrust as it gave quicker kills. In The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the cavalry are said to have “Flashed all their sabres bare, flashed as they turned in air, sabring the gunners there”, displaying the importance the sabre had to the cavalry as it was their only defence against the enemy yet, when wielded with bravery and skill, could cause devastation against even strong enemies. The modern sabre rules clearly reflect this use as it is the sole weapon that you can score hits with the side of as well as the tip and only body parts above the waist can be hit, reflecting the target area that was visible to the soldiers on horseback when they rode through an enemy army and tried to slash soldiers down.

In conclusion, the modern game of fencing has been greatly shaped by the historical uses of the weapons. The modern rules mirror those needed for the weapon, and its user, to flourish in the past, when everything from solving a personal matter to a war could hang on your skill with a sword.

Hypnotism: Game of the Mind

Sophia K (L6)

Hypnotism, for many, brings to mind images of a black and white swirling screen; clock-swinging magicians; or Merritt McKinney in Now You See Me. However, when looking deep into this complex game of the mind, hypnotism is backed up by an incredibly robust scientific framework.

The word hypnosis comes from ‘hypnos’, the Greek word for sleep. Hypnos was the Greek God of sleep. The word, as we know it now, was coined by James’s Braid, an English physician. The first record of a hypnotic state was in 1027 in which Avicenna, a Persian physician, wrote about a ‘trance’. Hypnotism now refers to the induction of a state of consciousness in which a person apparently loses the power of voluntary action and is highly responsive to suggestion or direction.

Understanding how hypnosis works, in itself, is incredibly complex. There are several theories used to help us understand, the first three being: altered state of consciousness; suggestibility; and disassociation. Brain activity is also another more scientific way in which we can try to understand hypnosis. “Brain-imaging studies show higher activity in the prefrontal cortex, parietal networks, and anterior cingulate cortex during hypnosis for suggestible subjects” according to NY health.

Franz Mesmer (1734-1815) is the first person notably recognised in modern ‘hypnotism’. He was a German physician known for Mesmerism. He developed animal magnetism which was swiftly dismissed due to lack of support (this theory claimed that fluid in the body acted due to laws of magnetism). Mesmerism was hypnotic induction held to involve animal magnetism, so obviously far from the hypnotism we know now.

The next significant breakthrough was by James Braid (1795-1860) –previously mentioned that he coined the phrase. He worked to separate the idea of hypnotism from the more supernatural ‘magical’ idea of hypnotism that came with Mesmer. He concentrated on the power of suggestion and how it could induce a trance-like state which he referred to as “nervous-sleep”. By the 20th century hypnosis became recognised as a tool for therapeutic purposes. Pioneers like Milton H. Erickson, Dave Elman, and Clark L. Hull contributed to the development of clinical hypnotherapy. It was used to help things like pain management; behaviour modification; and the treatment of psychological conditions.

Nowadays, we use it commonly in many ways. It can be used to treat insomnia by promoting relaxation and helping individuals to overcome the issues causing their insomnia. It helps massively with behaviour change, being used to help stop smoking, weight loss, stopping bad habits, and overcoming

frAnz mesmer

JAmes BrAid

phobias. Because it involves deep relaxation, it can be used to effectively help manage stress and anxiety as well as improve self-esteem and confidence. Pain management has also been a long-term use of hypnosis, it was even used before amputations in the civil war. It controls pain perception and can increase the patients comfort in medical situations.

The process for hypnosis generally follows the following steps. Assessment, which is where the therapist or hypnotist assesses the patients’ goals and needs as well as their suitability to hypnosis. Induction, which is when the therapist starts the hypnotic state by using relaxation techniques and verbal guidance. This includes a variety of techniques such as visualisation and gradual muscle relaxation. Suggestion is the third step; it is the most self-explanatory as it is where the therapist provides the patient with the suggestions or goals (this is the bit in movies where they are told to do incredibly stupid and amusing things). Finally, reinforcement and awakening, which is where the therapist helps the patient to reframe their thoughts and behaviours around the goal or suggestion, then brings them gently out of the hypnotic state. The patient will often feel refreshed and relaxed as they exit this state. For things like behavioural change, there will be post hypnotic suggestions, which may include triggers or cues that can be used in daily life to reinforce the desired behavioural change.

Is it all just placebo effect? They are both driven by suggestion so are they not the same thing? Arguably no, hypnosis is shown to make a substantial difference to brain activity, one much stronger than placebo effect. Risks and side effects are also minimal: headaches, drowsiness, dizziness and sometimes situational anxiety. However, hypnosis as a way for memory retrieval is more controversial as it can come with sever anxiety and distress amongst other symptoms. It can also create false memories which, of course, comes with deeper controversy.

So, the topic of hypnosis is a complicated one, but based much more off scientific evidence than people generally think. With it, however, comes many moral debates and also a lot of confusion. Hypnotherapy is an ever-growing treatment; There is a lot of research still going on and people are taking a closer look at the moral aspect. Do you believe hypnosis is the route forward for psychological treatments? Or is it just chance and placebo effect?

How illusions play ‘games’ with our brain Camilla G (Re)

Humans have always been interested by illusions. These perceiving tricks, which range from optical illusions that deceive our eyes to cognitive illusions that manipulate our minds, provide an understanding into the relationships between our minds and the outside world. But how do illusions play with our brains, and why have they become more and more popular throughout history?

Illusions come in various forms, but they share a common trait –they mislead our sensory experiences, creating discrepancies between what we perceive and what is objectively present. Optical illusions, such as the famous ‘impossible triangle’, exploit the way our eyes interpret visual stimuli. Cognitive illusions, on the other hand, delve into the intricacies of our cognitive processes, revealing the biases and shortcuts our brains often take.

Understanding how illusions interact with our brains is made possible in large part by neuroscience. According to studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), certain parts of the brain linked to perception – like the visual cortex – show increased activity when subjected to illusions. The brain tries to make sense of contradicting images by forming a perception that is affected by our misconceptions or opinions.

The existence of cognitive biases in our thought processes is shown through illusions. For example, confirmation bias makes us focus on information that supports what we already know. Illusions are more effective when we are drawn to particular parts of a scene due to our opinions or experience, and therefore control our perception by deliberately focusing our attention on those sections. By delivering stimuli that match our expectations, illusions can take advantage and manipulate us to achieve what we want to see rather than what is actually there.

In daily life, illusions can also be used for our benefit or disadvantage. For instance, they have the ability to sway eyewitness evidence in criminal investigations, which leads to misidentified suspects. Strategic use of illusions in advertising and design can affect customer perception and decision-making. This could encourage customers to buy products based on the advert.

Illusions are not just a creation of modern science; they have interested and confused humanity throughout history. Illusions are frequently used in artistic representations in numerous cultures to communicate deeper meanings or spiritual truths. The abundance of illusions throughout ancient artefacts shows their ongoing appeal and the universality of the human obsession with perceptual games.

Illusions extend beyond the realm of sensory perceptions to challenge our understanding of free will. Neuroscientific research suggests that our brains make decisions before we consciously perceive them. Illusions that manipulate our perceptions further blur the lines between conscious choice and automatic (unconscious) behaviours, raising philosophical questions about the nature of human agency.

Illusions provide significant understanding into the details of our mental processes and perception. We are able to gain a better understanding of the complicated relationship between our brains and the external environment through illusions and reality. Illusions entertain and educate us as we continue to explore how the human brain functions, encouraging us to explore the nature of what we think and the limitations of our mental abilities.

Game of love/Game of courtship:

what are the stakes of referring to relationships as ‘games’?

Eden D (L6)

The Game of Love. Mind games are normal in a healthy relationship, right? I’ll rephrase; I’ll leave him hanging for a bit, make him miss me, that’s okay, right? We all do it, create a bit of mystery. But when does this become toxic? What are the stakes of building a relationship on games?

A few examples of playing games in a relationship include behaving in a manipulative or insincere way in order to gain control or power over the other person. This can include intentionally withholding affection, sending mixed messages or creating unnecessary arguments and drama. This can even progress to the extent of very toxic games such as: blame shifting, deception, gaslighting and love bombing.

Blame shifting is the inability to take accountability for something you did wrong and instead lash out at the other person. Deception is very common in relationships; this can include lying or withholding information to control the other person. Gaslighting is pretending to be the victim of a situation that you caused and influencing the actual victim it is their fault. Love bombing is when you give the other person a considerable amount of attention at the start of the relationship and then take it all away at once, leaving them wondering what they did wrong.

A relationship with a foundation of games like those listed above is unlikely to be successful because of unhealthy power dynamics, insecurity and mistrust being established from the start. It’s important to create boundaries at the start of a relationship and with a lack of trust, the relationship will inevitably crumble.

Why do people play mind games in a relationship? There are various reasons a person might play with your feelings, ranging from their own insecurities and fears to a need for control or an ego boost. As Dr Romanoff explains: “At the core, we believe that if we were to show up as ourselves, the other person would not be interested in us as we would appear as too eager and therefore undesirable.” Today, playing games in relationships

has been normalised to the extent that responding in less time than the other person did is considered desperate. Many people are afraid to be their authentic selves because of underlying issues such as insecurity, emotional unavailability, or a need for control.

People who often engage in mind games are generally also the player types, but not always. Player types are generally out for themselves, deceiving, misleading and usually have ulterior motives than what they say. This is an example of a toxic person. How would you know if someone is toxic? A toxic person is anyone whose behaviour adds negativity and upset to your life. If the person you’re interested in is detached, stringing you along and consistently proving to you that they have no intentions of changing in order to create a healthy relationship, the best thing to do is believe them and then leave them.

Finally, what are the consequences of playing mind games in a relationship? If you take anything from this article, it should be that playing mind games on another person will not result in making them like you more in the long term. If anything, it will create distance, hurt and mistrust between the two people involved.

Can Gamification enhance learning in Mathematics?

Sasha B (L6)

When investigating whether gamification can enhance learning in Mathematics, it is important to understand exactly what is meant by this term. Gamification is the application of game-like elements (e.g. point scoring, competition with others etc) in lessons to encourage student engagement. Gamification within an educational setting seeks to foster motivation and participation by tapping into the human desire for competition, achievement, and reward. The generation in education today have been emersed in technology from a very early age, so this form of learning should align with how students regularly engage with their peers and with society. In today’s digital age, with its immediate acknowledgement and reward, students lose interest easily, especially when material is presented to them in the traditional manner. This article will investigate whether gamification could enhance learning in Maths, increase student engagement and overall academic performance.

Various studies have shown that gamification can be a powerful motivational tool, creating a sense of purposeful learning by making students feel as if they are solving real-world problems and connecting what they learn in class to the world around them. This can capture students’ interest in areas that some struggle to understand, especially more complex mathematical concepts, and can provide a more interactive and enjoyable learning experience, by providing immediate rewards and progression.

Gamification in Maths lessons can offer a more individualised learning path which can assist students who may be more able to progress at a faster pace or be better adapted to an individual students’ educational needs. This is done by incorporating levels and incentives so students can work at their own speed and confidence level, receiving rewards and feedback as they progress, and enabling a teacher to effectively deal with classes of mixed abilities. Particularly with teaching Maths, immediate feedback / correction is crucial, and gamification will offer real-time responses, the ability to rapidly re-attempt questions and will help students understand and obtain the right answer.

Classrooms that offer a level of gamification provide their students with an environment where they are not afraid to make mistakes and give things a go without the fear of getting them wrong or being embarrassed: after all, in the gaming world a degree of failure commonly predicates a successful path to the next level. Selfconsciousness is often seen as one of the challenges from Maths teachers, as some students do not participate in class due to the fear of failure. Gamification can reduce Maths anxiety and create a more positive attitude towards

learning the subject. Also, for those students who are less numerically inclined, gamification can incorporate storytelling elements into maths-making concepts making them more relatable. Narratives and characters can provide context and meaning to mathematical problems, making them more familiar, and memorable, therefore creating a better understanding of the subject.

When incorporating gamification into Maths lessons, it is important to strike a balance between enjoyment and educational value. With this in mind, there are some challenges that gamification could present. Whilst the reward system from playing games might motivate students, they may also become too focused on passing levels and beating their classmates so that they fail to understand the underlying mathematical concepts that the game is trying to teach them. Also, the competitive nature of gamification may not suit all students, and some may find this stressful, negatively impacting their learning experience. Furthermore, not all students will be lucky enough to have access to the necessary devices or internet connectivity which could preclude certain demographic groups or schools in less affluent areas from accessing this technology.

As well as this, educators need to be conscious that gamification may produce short term motivation, or that the novelty may wear off over time. Teachers will need to consistently evaluate the effectiveness of the ‘games’, gain feedback from students and adjust/maintain the technology infrastructure on a regular basis. A continuous evolution of gamification content is key, although this requires both time and resource requirements to support and may be potentially expensive for schools to maintain and keep up with.

In conclusion, I do think that gamification can enhance learning as it can be an effective strategy for teaching Maths and has the potential to play a significant role in education, making the learning process much more inclusive, exciting, interactive, and relevant for students, particularly in maths-based subjects. In the future, a well-rounded education will likely involve a mix of traditional classroom-based teaching methods together with a significant mix of technological application and innovative approaches including elements of gamification. By integrating gaming into the lessons, educators can create a vibrant, interactive classroom, that will motivate the students and aid with the understanding of the subject.

Online games – are they as damaging as people say?

Tallulah B (Sh)

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation”. Plato, c. 400 BC

Over 3.3 billion people worldwide have played a video game in their lifetime, and the act of gaming has become the second biggest hobby for Gen Z in the UK, just below team sports. Even further, the gaming industry is now worth over two hundred billion US dollars and has become larger than the film and music industries combined. What does this mean for future generations? Is the art of “play” slowly being lost?

The gaming industry promotes online games as an educational way to socially connect, and gain a variety of skills, such as improved and quicker decision making, a vital life skill in today’s fast paced world. But is this just clever marketing speak? Or can gaming really benefit us?

A large majority of people like to think that gaming is negative, it takes up all your time, money, and ‘can turn your eyes square’. But is this really the truth? Realistically, gaming can be beneficial, and according to several studies done by the National Library of Medicine, there is strong evidence of brain development when gaming, resulting in an increase in white and grey matter forming stronger bonds in visual and motor pathways.

Other studies have found various surface level pros to gaming. Hand eye coordination and improved cognitive functions can potentially keep the mind active and aware. Video games that require strategic thinking, problem solving and quick decision making tend to have a positive influence on an average gamer’s life. Gaming is also a form of occupation, a hobby, and a way to bring people together.

Some might say that gaming is an antisocial activity, but I disagree. Many games have introduced ‘multi player’ formats, which has opened a whole new range of social activity. It is a way to connect from afar, which can prevent so many people from feeling detached just because they cannot meet with friends. Alongside this, when asked what gaming does for them, teenagers say that it can be an escape from their problems, it can improve their confidence, provide a community, and simply be a distraction from boredom or overthinking. Gaming can make a person happy, with achievable goals and levels to pass, gaining dopamine hits throughout. Articles revealed that dopamine spikes up from 75% to 300% from baseline levels when involved in an online activity.

Furthermore, in the medical field, researchers are beginning to make games that can be prescribed to support treatment of disorders such as autism, ADHD and even Alzheimer’s. The aim is to build a new type of treatment that can be used without the sometimes-harmful chemicals with uncomfortable side effects.

Superficially, video games appear to have their benefits. Still, it’s important to remember that these positive effects could come with a catch: they can be far outweighed by the cons if gaming becomes an addiction.

Dopamine is a renewable hormone; however, it has similar traits to nicotine, being addictive. Dopamine receptors become used to the high amounts they are receiving, and it becomes unnatural to do a task that doesn’t fuel you with dopamine. This is how addiction starts. You will start to struggle with doing tasks that are less stimulating or appealing, simply because, why would you? You become dependent on the release of dopamine and the happiness it brings you after, as it is now a reinforced behavior: ‘why would I do household chores, keep up with personal hygiene or fitness, when gaming makes me happy?’ Our basic instincts will always choose the most gratifying short-term experience and without discipline you will find it difficult to control and moderate your desire to play.

This alone helps us understand the fact that in 2022, gamers in the US spent over 55.5 billion US dollars on video games and 67% of people over 18 in the US play online games on a regular basis.

Our brains have two drives – to avoid pain and to gain pleasure. Gaming is convenient; it is the easy solution to both problems. It is easy to enjoy the pleasure of a video game from the comfort of your sofa, avoiding any physical strain. You are comfortable and physically relaxed. Online gaming is also advertised as mentally relaxing, you are away from the stress of reality, so taking your mind away by gaming is avoiding pain. However, as good as this sounds, it is easy to fall into a trap of being stuck close to your hobby, because it is so ‘perfect’. This leads to many problems, mental as well as physical.

Furthermore, studies show that regular gamers are more likely to suffer from conditions such as anxiety, depression, and a preference for isolation. Whereas social interaction through conventional play promotes the ability to recover from stresses, anxiety, and improve the overall quality of life. Online socialising is becoming increasingly popular, and even though it can be beneficial in some cases, it is promoting the alienisation of traditional socialising. Is it really the way forward?

Lack of social interaction and exercise along with a feeling of despair if you’re not performing well at a game can all lead to a depressed state of mind. Doctors studying behavioral changes in heavy gamers have also come to the realisation that children who have played ‘violent’ online games have displayed not necessarily ‘violent’ behavior, but certainly less desirable.

So, what would Plato say now? He would probably be shocked by what is referred to as play, but if he could understand the benefits that modern day science has proven, and the breakthroughs that medical fields have gained, he might reason with his horror. Like many things in life, what matters with gaming is your relationship with the hobby. Are you in control, do you have the balance, and can you moderate your ‘playing’?

Video Games and Violence

Karissa L (L6)

Some of the most prominent changes in society in the 21st Century are the technological advances, allowing for globalisation, the process through which people globally become more connected and interdependent, with unprecedented levels of information access, the development of artificial intelligence, and even healthcare breakthroughs. This new age has also transformed how we consume media, saturating our daily lives by mass media. Due to its easy accessibility, television, movies, social media, videos, and video games have also seeped into children’s lives. One of the greatest consequences of the technological revolution is it effects on the vulnerable and impressionable youth, which are both short and long-term. One of the greatest perpetrators of these effects is the gaming industry, where hyper-realistic and violent video games are becoming increasingly popular.

In this essay, I will refer to aggression as the intent to injure/aggravate another person, while violence will be defined as physical aggression that can severely injure the victim. While video games are not the sole factor in causing aggressive behaviour in adults, it certainly can be a large influence in it. This is because children showing aggressive behaviour are more likely to become violent adults, with 58% of Australian juvenile delinquents who committed violent crimes being violent towards family and/or partners as an adult. As a result, activities that promote violent behaviour in youth become a large risk factor for violence as an adult. One factor that can induce long-term aggressive behaviours is desensitisation. Desensitisation is the process in which repeated exposure to emotionally activating media stops a natural reaction to such media. An example of this could be after repeated exposure to gore could result in less sweating, discomfort, and a lower increase in heart rate. Desensitisation is particularly prevalent in video games, as gore and violence are often portrayed, and even rewarded, with one study finding 98% of video games involved intentional violence for an average length of 36% of the game. This suggests that violent video games, particularly for children in environments where violence is commonplace, are a major risk factor for falling into patterns of violence as an adult.

Video games also have negative short-term effects. These effects are due to three psychological processes: priming, emotional arousal, and mimicking. Priming is when one stimulus (violent media) influences how a person responds to a related stimulus (aggressive concepts). When violent video games render rewards in the videogame, aggressive concepts gain a positive association, inciting aggressive behaviours. Video games can arouse the gamer in two ways: excitation transfer, and general

arousal. Excitation transfer occurs when a stimulus, such as a violent videogame, arouses an emotion, like anger, and the person responds to provocation more severely, resulting in a more aggressive response. In general arousal, the increased emotional arousal to the videogame may be so great that inappropriate, aggressive responses are displayed. Such aggressive responses can manifest in ways such as verbal outbursts, damaging belongings, and profane language. Short-term aggression and violence from video games can also be caused from mimicry. Children often copy what they observe in their environment. Violent video games may cause violent outbursts.

Another issue that is caused by video games, is addiction. Addiction works using the reward system, a system used to reinforce behaviours needed for survival (e.g. eating). When we eat, the reward pathways release dopamine, causing a sensation of pleasure, causing you to eat again in future. In addiction, dopamine floods the reward pathway with much more dopamine than food or a natural reward can, encouraging you to continue the behaviour. As addictive behaviours overwhelm the brain with dopamine, chronic use causes desensitisation to occur. With video games, this means that the addicted gamer will want to spend more and more time gaming to experience the same pleasure from before desensitisation. Addiction to video games is so widespread within gaming communities that one study found that 15% of gamers had formed an addiction. As motivation is similarly controlled by the same reward systems, videogame addiction can lead to issues with motivation and selfregulation. Videogame addicts are more likely to miss school, have poorer grades, and have more sleep problems. As gamers spend more time on video games, both short-term and long-term effects are amplified.

Given the right conditions, video games can become a catalyst for violent and anti-social behaviours, whether that be temporary, or more long-term and continue into adulthood, or even a gateway to addiction. Although there is some correlation between violence and violent video games, video games are not inherently bad, and in a world where digital entertainment is unavoidable, children’s use of video games and mass media should be monitored more.

Bibliography

https://www.jstor.org/stable/26632315?searchText=The+correlation+between+violent+video+games+and+real-world+aggression&sea rchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DThe%2Bcorrelation%2Bbetween%2Bviolent%2Bvideo%2Bgames%2Band%2Brealworld%2Baggression&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A6932fb2e821bd9eaf3870f7173da5993&seq=1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10065366/#:~:text=Video%20game%20addiction%20falls%20into,internet%20 %5B2%2D4%5D

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The Psychology behind Video Games

Lewis M (Re)

Introduction

At least once in your life, you must have played games. Whether it be card games, video games, or even board games, you probably can’t remember every instance of you playing them. Not all games caught your attention. Well, what exactly makes video games so compelling? Of course, it comes down to personal preference. Still, game developers have ideas of what people like, and psychology is important in distinguishing what developers need to create a successful game. Having at least three billion active players, the introduction of video games was groundbreaking. It not only has practical benefits, but also it can strengthen neural circuits, and improve mental skills, however, video games are directly linked to increased aggravation and shortened attention spans. This essay will begin by discussing the ideas video game developers use to keep you playing, followed by addiction.

The immersion and appeal of video games

Unlike movies, books, or TV shows, video games are immersive and allow players to have ‘control’ of what they are doing. Players can therefore change the outcome of the game, which makes for a very active form of entertainment. This makes for an important aspect in video game appeal and the addictions linked with them.

Over the years, video games are getting better and better at getting you to choose them. The introduction of VR, simulators, and gaming-specialised PCs only fuelled the fire. The addition of these can help to immerse the player in a better experience, however, it can lead to addictions. Once players enter a game for the first time, they should feel the urge to continue playing it if the developer has done a well enough job. This is called ‘player retention’ and is particularly important to game developers as game revenues are not just made from the initial purchase of the game, but also the microtransactions and subscriptions the player purchases.

The Role of Rewards and Motivation

An aspect of most games is the complex and varied rewards system. Video games plan to the desire of completion to match the human urge to achieve and master skills. The achievements serve as a form of extrinsic motivation to continue playing the game and bragging rights to others. For better understanding, extrinsic motivation refers to when people do activities for rewards, and intrinsic motivation refers to self-interest or interest in the activity. The start of the achievement system can be traced back all the way to the 1980s when a game called Chopper Command gave out physical rewards after completing a level with over 10,000 points. From then, rewards became more and more digital and often gave online badges or trophies as a reward.

The thought of these achievements brings up an important question: What are the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation? A study from the Department of Work and Organizational Psychology in the Netherlands proved that pay-for-performance salary systems on jobs did not help to enrich jobs or increase decision-making skills, because the performance contingent extrinsic rewards decreased the intrinsic motivation, creating laziness at the job and basic level work. On the other hand, it was suggested that if organisations pay their employees fair salaries, not subject to their performance, it would guarantee participation, and therefore increase intrinsic motivation and performance. This ties in to the idea of video game badges and achievements. It compares pay-for-performance salary systems as badges and are a form of extrinsic reward, therefore players do as little as they can to receive the achievement, however playing just for the enjoyment of the game is a form of intrinsic reward (fair salary in this context) and leads to more effort being put into the game, therefore boosting enjoyment and time spent.

Addiction

The definition of a video game addiction is: ‘excessive or compulsive use of computer and video games that interferes with daily life.’ This means that whilst people may choose to play games for much longer than recommended, it isn’t classified as an addiction without interfering with daily life. A video game addict is not one who plays a lot, but rather a person who finds satisfaction in the arousal and dopamine produced by gaming. Addiction is a dangerous disease on all levels, and there are many drawbacks to the one who is addicted. Gamers with addictions may isolate themselves from others or from social interactions by focusing solely on in-game achievements rather than life events. Behavioural markers signify addiction in children, including irritability if unable to play, focus impairment, stealing and truancy. However, addiction can be combatted by slowly reducing the time spent on the game or stopping immediately, however, immediate blockage to games can lead to short-term depression, anxiety or stress disorders. The increase in video game addiction recently has led to public concern over video game usage and more methods of controlling screen time.

Conclusion

Video games helped to change the way people think, for both good and bad, and gave new opportunities never seen before. These games immerse players, and get better retention on video games, but also help to increase enjoyment. The popularisation of digital badges and trophies helped to motivate players, however, the success did not come without backlash, as players were found to have less intrinsic motivation when playing. Furthermore, it is important to know that video game addiction can cause lasting damage to the health and wellbeing of people, and should not be taken lightly. Understanding the psychology of video games holds great importance in the impact of human cognition, motivation and behaviour.

Bibliography

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The Rise of Professionalism in the Olympics

Henry W (Sh)

The first Olympics were held in 1896 after Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympics Committee in 1894. He first proposed the idea to the Paris Sports Society, however, the proposal was not well received. Not to be put off, he invited sports people and athletes from nine countries two years later to a sports conference in Sorbonne, Paris. He put forward his ideas, and this time it was decided that a modern version of the Games should be held every four years and that each Games should happen in a different city. The committee unanimously decided that the first modern Olympics should take place in the country of the original Games, Greece. One of the most notable things about their rules for the contest was that, like the original games, professionals were strictly forbidden.

In the early modern Games, the rules were that no competitors could ever have received money for playing sport. A few famous athletes were kicked out of the Games and even had medals stripped from them for violating this law. The officials were incredibly strict about this law and enforced it brutally. In 1932, an American athlete named Jean Shiley won gold in the high jump. She hoped to defend her title; however, the IOC (International Olympics Committee) prevented her from attending the competition due to the officials learning that she had earned some money being a swimming teacher.

So why was this harsh and seemingly unnecessary rule enforced, or even made in the first place? When Pierre de Coubertin reinstated the Olympics, he insisted that only people who had a pure passion for their sport were deserving of entering the Games. As the IOC discussed the rules for the 1896 Games, the British representatives said that manual labourers should be completely banned from competing, because they thought that only the wealthy had the means to exert themselves with no prospect of financial reward. However, the rest of the delegates concluded that the expense of travelling should be sufficient to deter the lower classes.

The number of complaints concerning Olympic eligibility standards increased dramatically throughout the Cold War. Western competitors claimed that the supposedly ‘amateur’ Iron Curtain athletes were all professionals who were blatantly given official subsidies by their governments. The real purpose of these athletes, who were nominally engaged as soldiers or police officers, was to train for and win Olympic gold to demonstrate the supremacy of communism. Communist nations claimed that American collegiate players were like those in their own countries in that they received free housing, food, and education while primarily focusing on their athletic development. Avery Brundage, the chairman of the IOC at the time, ignored the louder and louder calls for change. Many athletes publicly derided him and the concept he promoted, claiming that world-class athletes nowadays didn’t have time to work outside of athletics. The gold-medal-winning American shot putter Parry O’Brien once said: “I have never known a named Olympic athlete who was an amateur.”

By 1986, rules were put down that switched control of who could participate in the Games which took a lot of power from the IOC and gave more authority to the individual sports federations. This was a big step towards releasing professionals into the Olympics. Robert Hendrick, the then-president of the International Swimming Federation, famously said: “I don’t want to see the Olympics degenerate into another forum for professional sports, and I don’t like the present archaic rules. There’s a middle ground. We say each sport should look at itself independently, make its own eligibility rules and enforce them.”

Later that year, the IOC took the final step and removed the ban on professionals. Some sports took a bit longer, such as Olympic tennis which went pro in 1988, and Olympic basketball in 1992, which led to the U.S. ‘Dream Team’ of NBA pros like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, who defeated all their opponents by an average of 44 points and took the gold medal against Croatia.

So, what are the advantages of having professionals at the Olympics? As journalist Ron Rappoport said: “The pros are there for a reason. People will tune in to watch athletes they know. The pro athletes are pre-sold to the public, which means increased viewership.” As shown in the U.S. “Dream Team” of 1992, allowing pros into the Games has massively increased the level of skill at the Olympics, and is a great way to see a whole variety of sports played at the very highest level. Introducing pros has also greatly increased the money made from the Games, which leads to a huge economic boost to whichever city is hosting. On the other hand, having pros in the Games has also completely changed the spirit of the Games, which was originally meant to support amateur sports.

Could amateurism ever return? No way. Having professional athletes has brought a huge new amount of interest into the Olympics, and most of us could not even imagine an Olympics without the pro athletes we all know and love. Television networks pay millions of pounds for the rights to televise the Olympics, which then generates hundreds of millions of pounds for them. Also, the costs associated with training, travel and equipment have risen exponentially since the amateur days. Strict amateurism would limit access to compete in the Games for athletes who can’t afford these expenses without getting paid for it.

In conclusion, the Olympic Games have evolved considerably since the first modern Games in 1896. From de Coubertin’s interpretation of the modern Games with a strict prohibition on professionals, to the eventual acceptance of pros into Olympic competitions, the Games have transformed significantly since the time of de Coubertin. And the one thing driving this change has been the acceptance of pros into the Games. This truly is a story that demonstrates the power of the people against injustice. Overall, I believe that the acceptance of professional athletes into the Olympics by the IOC was a massive positive for the Games and has allowed the Olympics to transform into the amazing display of skill that we see today.

The Games of the VIII Olympiad

Mr T A Kiggell (CR, Modern Languages Department)

Why on earth host a major Games? The cost, the hassle, the reputational risk, the politics… It’s no surprise that there have been numerous cases recently of bidding cities withdrawing their offer when they realise all the potential pitfalls. But Paris bid enthusiastically for the 2024 Olympics. It was helpful, of course, that the founder and driving force of the whole movement was a Frenchman - Pierre de Coubertin. And one of the main ideas behind their bid was a certain pleasing symmetry: Paris also hosted the Games exactly 100 years ago. 1924 was an interesting Games, in all sorts of ways.

The Olympics were very different then to the global extravaganza we know now. There were only 17 sports [now 32]; one woman competed for every 23 men; there were only 44 competing nations [now 206], a mere two from Africa (South Africa & Egypt) and two from Asia (Japan, India). With WW1 still fresh in the memory, Germany was not invited. There was no Olympic flame, no torch relay; there were no official sponsors, though Coca-Cola would soon become the first [at Amsterdam 1928].

The previous games [Antwerp 1920] had been a low-key affair; there were other priorities in the post-war years. But Paris 1924 was a successful relaunch, not least because media coverage was considerably more widespread. (There is some lovely video footage, which can be viewed online). Furthermore, the standard of sporting competition was a considerable improvement on previous versions. All this represented a happy swansong for the patriotic Coubertin, who would take a back seat in the movement after these Games. The 1924 Olympics came closer by far to fulfilling his vision of a global movement for peace and friendship through sport - one which enjoyed a secure, permanent place on the international calendar. This had looked far from guaranteed when Paris had first hosted the Olympics in 1900.

1924 was the first Olympics with a 50m pool with lanes, the first games with a major opening ceremony, the first games to have an athletes’ village, and a closing ceremony with the three flags; the Faster, Higher, Stronger motto was first attached to the Olympics at these games. The Olympic Art competition, which had always existed alongside sport [in line with Coubertin’s aspiration to educate men in mind and body] took off properly for the first time, even if the artists weren’t allowed to sell their work afterwards, because that would have made them professionals, not amateurs. To symbolise the cultural programme of the games, a harp was included on the medals, alongside the balls, swords, boxing gloves etc.  The main stadium, Stade Colombes, still stands in the North West suburbs of Paris; it subsequently hosted the 1938 World Cup final, and was used as the home stadium of the pro rugby team Racing 92 right up to 2017. The cycling events took place at the Vélodrome

pierre de couBertin, visionAry And founder of the modern olympics

d’Hiver, a venue which history now remembers for an altogether more wretched reason - this was where, in 1942, the Jews of Paris were held by the French police before their deportation to the Nazi death camps.

For Brits, the headlines revolved around the ‘Chariots of Fire’ runners, Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. Taking a less Brit-centric view, the stars were the amazing distance runner Paavo Nurmi, the ‘flying Finn’, winner of five golds; his win in the 5000m came only 55 minutes after he had won the 1500m. USA won gold for rugby; Uruguay for football. The legendary American, Helen Wills, won gold in the tennis, and would surely have done so again in 1928, except that tennis was dropped after the ’24 Games until 1988. (To compensate, she won 34 grand slam titles in the following decade). Richard Norris Williams, who won gold in the mixed doubles, was a survivor of the sinking of the Titanic.

Gertrude Ederle of America won gold in the pool – and would add to her fame two years later by being the first woman to swim the English Channel [and in a time two hours quicker than the five men who had previously achieved this feat]. Athletes like Ederle were, for the first time, built up by the press into role models, embodiments of national values, patriotic heroes who affirmed the moral superiority/cleverness/determination/cutting-edge brilliance that set them [and, by extension, the nation] apart. Their stories were spun as popular entertainment, in a way which quickly became familiar. The US media would go on to do the same with the aviator Lindbergh in 1927. As for the stories which will unfold at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, Paris 2024 – watch this space.

eric liddell At the 1924 olympics

gertrude ederle

Why do female athletes deserve equal pay to male athletes?

Amber D (L6)

One of the most controversial topics when it comes to sports is the issue of gender equality and the rights of female athletes to equal pay, as it is widely known that male athletes typically earn significantly more than their female counterparts. For example, the average female athlete makes $15,232 in comparison to male athletes who make $38,008 on average, a 149.5% increase.  I personally believe that female athletes should be currently paid much more, however, many believe that this is a much more complex issue than just human rights.

My main argument for why female athletes should receive equal pay is that, fundamentally, the amount of money that you receive should be proportionate to the amount of effort and work dedicated to your job. It is widely known that any sport on a professional level requires an immense amount of commitment and that does not change whether you are a man or a woman. All athletes must adhere to a strict diet and training regimen that requires them to sacrifice their personal lives to compete a such a high level. Therefore, there is no reason why male athletes should be paid more for doing the same work and hours.

Additionally, achieving equal pay in women’s sports will help to achieve gender equality in many more aspects of society and will send a powerful message to many little girls that wish to pursue a career in their sport that they are not already at a disadvantage before they even begin. If women are paid fairly in sport, it shows that they are valued and respected in all areas of life. This could help break down gender stereotypes and promote greater equality in all areas of life.

Conversely, one of the main reasons as to why many believe that female athletes do not deserve equal pay is due to the increased revenue that men’s sports bring in. However, audience data from FIFA stated that more than 1 billion people watched the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2019. The final was also the second most watched football match in U.S. history and was watched by more U.S. viewers than the 2018 FIFA World Cup. With statistics showing that female athletes can perform equal to or better than male athletes and are entertaining to the U.S. audience, it is not due to the quality or watchability of the sport that men get paid more and instead due to the fact that women’s sport is incredibly underfunded.

Lastly, I just wish to reiterate that it is in fact feasible for women to receive equal pay and in fact increasing the pay that female athletes receive will in turn boost revenue for sports organisations. Therefore, they could attract more top talent and create a more competitive league. This could lead to more interest from fans, more ticket sales, and more revenue overall.

In conclusion, I strongly believe in a progression towards equal pay in both men’s and women’s sports as both male and female athletes dedicate their lives to becoming the best that they can possibly be and to discriminate against women simply just being women should be seen as immoral. Furthermore, promoting equality in such a publicised field may propel society to progress in the same way in other aspects of life. Additionally, it is proven that men and women’s sports can bring in the same amount of revenue and therefore women do in fact earn the right to close the gender pay gap.

Bruegel’s Children’s Games:

a dark parable or innocent fun?

Mr C A F Moule (CR, Head of Academic Scholars, Head of History)

I haven’t seen all the contents of this ‘Games’ publication, but I think I’m likely to have picked the subject matter which deals with the largest number of games all at once. There are about 90 games displayed in this painting of 1560 by the Netherlandish renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel, and about 230 participants.

Given that the picture, painted in glowing oils, is only a little over a metre wide, that makes it bewilderingly complex; and, of course, it’s mostly crowded and takes some time to unpick. The hundreds of little games-players clustered in groups, compete in pairs, or simply wander around alone. They are all apparently absorbed in their games, which form a remarkable compendium of the kinds of games children played and indeed often still play. The scene is huge: there’s a town square where most of the games are being played, and you can see more children in some of the neighbouring buildings, including a very smart stone one with Gothic arches which may be the town hall. But then one can look beyond this square, both to a river in countryside at the top left, where some swim, and along an extraordinarily long straight street at the top right, whose tremendous length has the somewhat alarming and dizzying effect of pulling one away from the comfortable and confined space of the square. One might fancy this (in an unacademic moment!) to be like one’s thoughts: generally focused on a comprehensible easily visible ‘neighbourhood’, but then suddenly aware of some huge and possibly interminable new vista.

The painting is mysterious and its meaning is debated. I love it, but even as I write this, I still can’t really decide whether it’s chiefly a cheerful entertainment, a wholesome meditation on the value of games in learning,

or a devastating and dark critique on the human condition. In a visceral sense, for the modern observer, it probably just depends on one’s mood: last time I saw it in the gallery in Vienna where it lives, my companion, a German civil servant and amateur artist, and I reacted in diametrically opposing ways – I was disturbed, he not. For academics, the jury is out, and some of them seem to get quite upset by the debate.

Let’s treat it first as entertainment. Indeed, it’s wonderful to spot all those games. Many are solitary pursuits, such as blowing bubbles or blowing up balloons, spinning tops or running with hoops, tree or fence-climbing, handstands, balancing a stick on a finger, or just making patterns in sand. Some are competitive games without any element of role-play, such as hide and seek, knuckle-bones or jacks, hat-throwing, mumblety-peg (involving throwing knives), or wrestling.

Some involve small groups larking around, such as those riding the top of a fence, or riding barrels, or running the gauntlet of kicking legs. There’s leap-frog, music-making, hat-making… there are games with birds, games with masks, groups singing, jumping, swimming… And there’s plenty of role play: a mock wedding, a mock tournament, mock religious ceremonies, mock shop-keeping. And somebody is blowing into a barrel, hoping to make a tremendous noise.

Needless to say, all this is fantastic fodder for anthropologists, and it is fascinating to see how children of so long ago passed their time. A modern version, I should think, might have more regulated games in controlled environments (and certainly not on trafficky main streets and squares), as well as a good many visible phones. It would be an interesting project to paint one. As for Bruegel’s work, we’re in little doubt that these games were commonly played and that, in a sense, this is an ‘authentic’ picture.

That may be the end of it: just a wonderful, enjoyable compendium of children’s games, painted for the delectation of the viewer. Such an interpretation would not be unreasonable given that plenty of other catalogues of this kind (though not necessarily of children’s games) exist. This is also the view presented by the Kunsthistorisches Museum where it hangs.

Of course, Bruegel’s picture isn’t actually realistic. He’s depicted what is apparently a universe of children: there are apparently no adults at all in those hundreds of figures. The children have even conquered the town hall, flying a ribbon from the upper window; and in the building left of the square somebody fires a water gun at an owl. There’s no place for adults here: it’s as though they’ve all just vanished from this society. This stylized and surreal world of children, together with other oddities, have persuaded many commentators to seek deeper meanings in the painting. These, like the games themselves, are potentially almost bewilderingly numerous. But I’ll focus on the main contention: could the overall message of the painting be dark and moralistic?

Are these children actually symbolic of the way in which people waste their lives? Is this all a metaphor for adult existence? Isn’t that a reasonable way to read the fighting, the going around in circles and inanely blowing bubbles, the pompous but ultimately purposeless ritual? Perhaps the painting is a negative commentary on the fact that all this is futile in the eyes of God. Might Bruegel, who painted peasant poverty very frequently, and often grimly, just be making a nihilistic comment?

The nearest picture to this stylistically is his Fight between Carnival and Lent (1559), which seems more straightforwardly to be a satire of the mean and the gluttonous, and various types who congregate around both; some read into it contemporary conflicts around the Reformation. I got to know Bruegel’s art through a book which really pored over the melancholy and often freezing cold poverty of his figures; it pointed out too that he did not stint at fierce satire, sometimes comical (as in Mad Meg , the furious

woman who invades hell and scares the devils), sometimes grim, as in the gaunt figure of ‘Lent’ in The Fight between Carnival and Lent . Every interpretation of every picture in this book was given a dark grim edge. And Bruegel can be very dark indeed: his Massacre of the Innocents shows calm and modern (1560s) soldiers doing house to house searches in a poor Netherlandish village in the snow, kicking doors down, tearing babies from weeping mothers, looking smart and ruthlessly efficient in their formation. Though the scene is supposed to be Bethlehem, this doubtless reflects the bleak Spanish war in the Netherlands that he witnessed. Meanwhile, his Triumph of Death shows armies of skeletons, accompanied by swords, gallows and huge fires, tearing apart the lives of all ranks of people.

Bruegel’s great predecessor, the fellow Dutchman Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), was often an inspiration to him, and Bosch specialised in surreal scenes of spectacular horror and bleakness. Bruegel’s ‘hell’ in Mad Meg owes much to the far more appalling and disgusting hells painted by Bosch in such works as The Last Judgement and The Garden of Earthly Delights. And a recurring theme in Bosch’s work is the pointlessness and stupidity – and indeed misery – of much human behaviour: this can be seen in the crowd who push along a huge haywain (in the eponymous painting), or the strange groups circling the central pool in the Garden of Earthly Delights. Hell awaits these people, who have wasted their lives and brought no joy to themselves or to others. Bruegel’s famous Tower of Babel, with all its intricate industry in pursuit of an unreachable goal, plays similarly (if less horrifyingly) on the message of vain futility, and the culpability of humanity in wasting time searching for worldly glory, riches and power.

But just because some of Bruegel’s pictures had dark messages, and some were influenced by Bosch’s phantasmagoric nightmares, it doesn’t mean that all of the artist’s work needs to be seen thus. And anyway, what reason is there to consider Children’s Games in this light?

Well, even such apparently innocuous scenes such as the celebrated Winter landscape with skaters and bird trap are usually read in allegorical terms, as commentaries on the human life, with for instance its slippery dangers easily presented as skating on ice. When discussing an artistic age so full of complex allegory and a conscious commentary on human and social condition, it’s arguably as hazardous to assume that there’s no meaning in one of these canvases as it is to read meaning into it. And quite apart from the context of frequently gloomy Reformation-era presentations of a moral wasteland, presented in the war-ravaged environment of the late 16th century, there are aspects of the painting that seem to invite that interpretation.

Look closely at those children. Though many of the children are indeed diminutive figures, ‘children’ in scale, it’s hard to find a face that looks really childish. Many of the figures are doll-like – neither children or adults; many others look distinctly adult. Perhaps these are adults playing children’s games –in other words whiling away their lives in pointless infantile behaviour. Bruegel didn’t call the picture ‘Children’s games’ – it’s an early 17th century name.

Nor are the games bringing their players much joy. Many of these doll-like figures are expressionless – rather spooky figures with dark pin-prick

eyes – many others look really miserable. When figures group together, there is often a suggestion of pain and desperation, as in the game with knives, Mumblety Peg, or the running the gauntlet between kicking legs. There are gatherings of figures on top of one another, seemingly forming grotesque hybrid creatures with almost uncountable legs.

As I’ve said before, most of the figures are absorbed in the games. But high in the building on the left – in a prominent position in the painting – a figure looking through a mask appears to take the whole scene. Perhaps the mask, with its hint of the fake and the dishonest, has meaning too.

All this amounts to an excited reaction, by yours truly as well as countless others. Yet there’s not really all that much to support such an interpretation. As my friend said, ‘very few people in renaissance art smile’, so we shouldn’t necessarily expect that of the children in Bruegel’s picture – an unsmiling demeanor doesn’t necessarily betoken unhappiness here any more than it does in Victorian family photographs. Smiling, in renaissance and medieval art, has often been reserved for devils, or – at the least – the undignified. And perhaps these doll-like figures are just little caricatures – just tiny players of games and not intended to be read psychologically at all. But children often smile while playing games, don’t they, even if not always? Wouldn’t it be odd not to suggest that, at least?

More forceful is the argument that the scene is actually rather prim: if this were really an allegory of the grim futility and wastefulness of life, wouldn’t we expect to see dirt, dishevelment, real pain, unbuttoned clothes, cards and dice, lewd or really cruel behaviour? The town is tidy and well-built, the children organised; there’s a sense of order. There’s sunshine and much less poverty than in many Bruegel works. The scene is earthy and a bit rough in parts, but that might just be fun, and it’s certainly never disgusting. Still, there’s order and tidiness too in that weird central panel of Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, and in Bruegel’s Tower of Babel, and in those scary soldiers in The Massacre of the Innocents. Order and tidiness doesn’t necessarily mean harmlessness.

Meanwhile children’s games were vaunted and praised as central to education by renaissance educators including Vittorino da Feltre and Erasmus who wrote ‘nothing is learned better than what is learned as a game’. It’s perfectly reasonable to see the figures as children (or ‘adult-children’) earnestly learning through play: their focus and concentration reflecting the serious efforts to better themselves in pursuits which, in the end, are ultimately constructive, whether they involve balancing or ball-playing, braving challenges, or the mimicking of the really big events of life, like marriage or war.

The painting is really a mystery: it’s not very clear how we are supposed to respond. And though it’s pretty likely that Bruegel didn’t intend it to be so mysterious, the various musings it invites from us only add to its strange and compelling power. It’s a testament to this power that something which confuses so much, and can be read in such utterly different ways, can still have so much appeal.

Wittgenstein and Language Games

Mr A G Oxburgh (CR, Philosophy and Religious Studies Department)

“McCarthy stripes it off the first, cutting the ball left to right into the short stuff. He’ll be looking to go low today, but he’ll need the flatstick to get hot to do so – his ball-striking is not one of his strengths. With just a wedge in, he should be taking dead aim at this pin. He’s got a 50 degree in hand, and looks to be drawing this one in with the wind… He lands it beyond the flag and uses the backstop to rip it back towards the hole. With just a tap in for birdie, McCarthy couldn’t have hoped for a better start.”

Is this text meaningful to you? If not, is it because you’ve never seen the words themselves before? Or, is it because of the context the words are being used in? If the text is meaningful to you, would it be so if it was about astrophysics? Or ballet? Does the fact that these words have meaning (or no meaning) for you, mean they are objectively meaningful/meaningless? Are objective answers to these questions possible?

For Wittgenstein, these sorts of questions about language should be at the heart of philosophical investigation; he believed that the problems of Philosophy (of mind, aesthetics, knowledge, metaphysics, ethics, and so on) will be solved with a full account of how language works. Wittgenstein set out to do so with an account of ‘the logic of our language’. He sought to illuminate the outer limits of language, of what can be said meaningfully – ultimately, his quest was to answer the question: what makes language meaningful?

Background

Wittgenstein was not born a philosopher, nor was he a precocious or academically successful child. Born in Vienna, and schooled in Linz (only two years ahead of a young Adolf Hitler), Wittgenstein didn’t enjoy his education. He left school without the qualifications for university entry, and travelled to England to work on propellors in Manchester. During his work, he became interested in the foundations of Mathematics, and was directed towards Russell’s Principles of Mathematics for answers. His first foray into Philosophy was revolutionary for him, and led to his studying the philosophical method from Russell in Cambridge for five terms. Russell described him as “the ablest person I have come across since Moore”. Indeed, Moore thought of Wittgenstein as a genius, as “he was the only person who frowned in my lectures”.

After spending time further studying philosophical logic in Norway, Wittgenstein served in the Austrian Army throughout the First World War. At the end of the war, he was captured and interned at Monte Cassino, the manuscript of his first published work (his only work published in his lifetime) – the Tractatus LogicoPhilosophicus – in his knapsack. Released from the prison camp in 1919, the Tractatus was published in 1921.

In his genius, Wittgenstein believed that by publishing the Tractatus, he had solved all of the problems of Philosophy, and decided to abandon the subject and become a schoolteacher. By explaining how our language works, Philosophy had become obsolete. 32 years later, however, two years after his death, his final philosophical position was published in Philosophical Investigations – a collation of Wittgenstein’s notes – and it appears that Wittgenstein’s position on language, and on the role of Philosophy, had evolved drastically over his lifetime. Clearly, the questions of Philosophy were not so easy to explain away.

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

Wittgenstein’s first work posited that language has an underlying structure, and that through inspection of this, one could discover the limits of meaningful language. He believed that language could be analysed into elementary propositions, and that from these elementary propositions, the philosopher could extrapolate and discover the limits of language. Furthermore, he claimed that the structure of reality can be deduced from these elementary propositions.

In referring to the limits of language, Wittgenstein means the limits of factual (and therefore meaningful) discourse. Picture the totality of meaningful propositions as a bubble. Wittgenstein’s method was to distil ordinary factual propositions to their simplest form – elementary propositions. From these elementary propositions, he then worked outwards to find the limits of the bubble. An important implication of this method is that by defining meaningful language within the space of the bubble, any propositions that don’t fit into this space become non-sense.

Take the first sentence of our sample set of propositions:

“McCarthy stripes it off the first, cutting the ball left to right into the short stuff.”

To distil this to elementary propositions, we need to simplify the sentence to the most basic propositions that are being expressed here. Essentially, we’re reducing this proposition to the proposition that mirrors the picture of reality being reported here. So, what picture is being reported here? McCarthy is hitting a golf ball powerfully off a tee, the ball moves left to right through the air landing in the shortest cut of grass – the fairway. Language is meaningful if it reports a picture of reality (which might be either true or false), so some call this a ‘picture theory of meaning’. To delve deeper, Wittgenstein’s theory here assumes that every factual proposition has a precise sense (which can be elucidated through elementary propositions), and that the way in which each factual proposition has this sense is pictorial – its words represent things.

Wittgenstein held that this analysis of language reveals to us truths about reality. Specifically, it suggests that reality consists ultimately of simple objects that are analysable in elementary propositions. It might be a stretch to make conclusions about the nature of reality through the study of language, but it is the study of logic that is at the heart of Wittgenstein’s theory, and perhaps this is a reasonable route to truths about reality.

Having defined the base constituents of meaningful language, Wittgenstein is now able to work outwards to define the limits of this type of language. An astute observer might have already noticed that this pictorial theory of meaning leaves no room for abstract philosophical and religious language, which does not represent something in reality, or at least something empirically verifiable in reality. For Wittgenstein, if something could not be verified empirically as true or false, it was meaningless.

Where does this leave the pursuit of Philosophy? The propositions of Philosophy and religion do not belong within the bubble of language that can be analysed into elementary propositions, as they don’t denote

objects in the world as ordinary propositions do. Wittgenstein writes, with the very last sentence of the Tractatus, that “whereof we cannot speak, thereof we must be silent.” The real problem with Philosophy is that it is full of nonsense, since we cannot make meaningful propositions in response to the problems considered in the pursuit of Philosophy. And with this, Wittgenstein bowed out from philosophical investigation for eight years.

Some scholars give a more generous account of Wittgenstein’s demarcation of Philosophy as beyond the limits of meaningful language. At the time, the Natural Sciences were reducing the questions of ethics, aesthetics and religion to questions of Psychology and Anthropology. Perhaps, Wittgenstein was protecting Philosophy by rendering it of a different category of thought to the empirical approach.

It is reasonable to consider how this conclusion impacts Wittgenstein’s own philosophical work. It surely makes no sense to make a philosophical argument about the meaning of language through philosophical propositions that are, themselves, meaningless! Wittgenstein answers that “anyone who understands me eventually recognises them [his propositions] as nonsensical, when he has used them – as steps – to climb up beyond them.”

To me, it appears that Wittgenstein still values philosophical thought, even though it belongs beyond the bubble of factual discourse. Indeed, Wittgenstein did not solve the problems of Philosophy – even this one problem, that of the meaning of language, was not satisfactorily answered by the Tractatus. Wittgenstein returned to the fray in 1929 and took on the Chair of Philosophy at Cambridge in 1939. By his death in 1951, Wittgenstein’s ideas had evolved dramatically, as became clear with the posthumous publication of Philosophical Investigations.

Philosophical Investigations

Wittgenstein wrote in the preface to Philosophical Investigations that he should include a reissue of the Tractatus as part of the same volume, because he believed that his new thinking would only be properly understood in contrast with his earlier work. His final publication did not establish a distinct new method – Wittgenstein was still attempting to fulfil the same mission. The gradual evolution from the Tractatus to Philosophical Investigations occurred over two decades, and Wittgenstein’s goal throughout remained: to plot the limits of language.

Wittgenstein’s method did change focus, however, from the plotting of an external line bordering factual discourse, to the exploration of internal lines between various forms of meaningful language. He had come to realise that there was little hope in finding a single, basic essence shared by all forms of language (the elementary propositions of the Tractatus). Instead, he put forward an anthropocentric theory in which the meaning of language is conditional, based on how humans use language, opposing the theory of necessity outlined in his early work.

Years after the publication of the Tractatus, Wittgenstein came to see that an essentialist account of language does not align with how language is actually used – there is no high common factor across all types of language. Instead, different forms of language resemble each other in many various ways, like members of a family resemble each other, or how human games are related but cannot be reduced to a single, similarising essence.

Wittgenstein refers to the different ways in which language is practiced as ‘language-games’ or ‘forms of life’. We use language in so many various ways: describing, affirming, reminiscing, joking, story-telling, praying. Each of these is a ‘language-game’; a term chosen specifically to stress that language must be considered as an activity. As such, Wittgenstein’s thought has evolved from a ‘picture theory of meaning’ to a ‘use theory of meaning’ – whether language is meaningful or not is not to be determined by whether it reports a picture of the world in an empirically verifiable way, but whether it is being used in a way that fits the rules of language as used by humans within a certain context.

Similarities do remain between the thinking of early and late Wittgenstein. For instance, the transgression of linguistic boundaries results in factual non-sense. In the Tractatus, to transgress the external boundary of meaningful language (the outer skin of the bubble) results in nonsense, because one is speaking in a way that does

not report a pictorial representation of reality – it is empirically non-verifiable and, therefore, meaningless. In his later work, it is the transgression of boundaries between different language games that can result in speaking nonsense.

Take, for example, the word “stripes” from the sample set of propositions. In the language game of golf, the word refers to a clean, powerful strike that will cause the ball to fly through the air at speed over a long distance. Now, if I were to apply this terminology in a completely different context it would make no sense. Imagine that I’m about to take on a pile of exam marking, and I commented to a colleague: “I’m about to stripe this marking”. It might have made sense to say that I was going to “smash through” some marking, but taking the golf-specific term “stripe” and applying it to a different context here would likely leave a colleague picturing me colouring in alternate lines to leave my pupils’ work in zebra-like stripes! By stepping over a boundary, I’ve spoken nonsense –no one can understand what I’m trying to say.

So, what role does Philosophical Investigations leave for the philosopher? Unlike the Tractatus, which assumed all of Philosophy to have been solved, in his later life, Wittgenstein saw the work of the philosopher as ongoing. “The philosopher’s treatment of a question is like the treatment of an illness” (Philosophical Investigations) Wittgenstein defined the philosopher’s task to be the diagnosis of philosophical confusion, with the treatment being a reminder of the ordinary language from which the confusion was born. This remains a rather limiting role for the philosopher, who is in danger of becoming a mere descriptive linguist. Wittgenstein does, however, remind us of the importance of returning to the ordinary to help us work out philosophical problems.

The Game of Philosophy

For some, the possibility that we might never reach a consensus to the great questions of Philosophy renders it a useless pastime. For me, it is this unending uncertainty that leaves me unsatisfied and unable to stay away from the debate. Indeed, Wittgenstein couldn’t live without Philosophy, even when he was convinced that he had rendered the subject obsolete.

Much like golf, the game of Philosophy never leaves one satisfied, urging us to reconsider our beliefs, challenge our assumptions, discuss with others, to creep our way closer to the truth. The philosopher must apply themselves with an open mind and a willingness to reflect, again and again, on the same questions considered by the Fathers of Philosophy over 2000 years ago.

Wittgenstein, one of the great players of Philosophy, even after writing what was considered a masterpiece, in the Tractatus, allowed himself to be challenged by others and, most difficultly, to challenge himself. Let him be an example for us: to continually question, and to have the humility for our minds to be changed.

The popularity of Squid Game

Alice D R D B (L6)

The outrageously popular Netflix TV series, Squid Game, which came out in September 2021, quickly became a social phenomenon and soon after it came out, became the most watched show on Netflix. This remarkable show told the story of a distraught man, Gi-Hun, who, after losing his job when the company he worked for went bust, was suddenly taken to compete against 99 others of a wide age range for a prize of $4.56 million, which could save him from his debt and ameliorate his life instantly. However, those who fail the tasks faced brutal deaths, making this a high-pressure environment with everything on the line for the contestants.

The director, Hwang, Dong-Hyuk a 52-year-old South Korean man made this unique series, unfortunately, due to the prior contract made with Netflix, he did not get any surplus pay for the traction Squid Game gained, whilst Netflix allegedly earnt 650 million pounds, profiting off his hard work, which raises questions for the morality of the industry. He said in an interview with the Guardian, “I have enough to put food on the table. And it’s not like Netflix is paying me a bonus”, which many would agree is unjust and does not credit his worthy accomplishment, and instead those at the top of the streaming service reap the reward off of his talent.

So, what is it about this particular show that is so engaging to the public? Firstly, the simplistic plotline is efficient in grasping the audience’s interest quickly, without them getting confused, and since it is quite simple due to the nature of the story, it quickly becomes engrossing, and the viewer is immersed in the plot. Moreover, the action heavy scenes are significant in sustaining the reader’s attention as there is rarely a moment of boredom, because the stressful setting causes Gi-Hun to always be in danger and therefore tensions run high. The audience rapidly gain a sense of personal empathy for the main characters and since they are aware of the stakes at play, they are desperate to see them succeed, but know that in the end, only one can take the prize.

Moreover, the show has a hugely political, underlying theme and represents the divide between different socioeconomic classes which is apparent in capitalist societies. Squid Game depicts the wealthiest in society taking pleasure in the fall of those socially below them and how this fate is unchallenged by others. So, the show became a symbol for this suffering of the lower class, and in South Korea, the Trade Unions formed a protest, centered around it and 16,000 attended, wearing the iconic red masks worn in the show to demonstrate how unfair this

societal design was. They demanded better work conditions from the government, and this proved how much power the show held, although they received little sympathy from those in charge, illustrating their lack of care.

Overall, Squid Game became a memorable and thrilling TV series with its fast-paced narrative whilst also being a satire of capitalist society, with the VIP’s looking down upon the frightened players, mimicking the upper class, who ride off the pain of the poor. It has reached viewers far and wide and was watched in around 140 million households, displaying its apparent appeal across the world. Lastly, the design of the show was also significant in heightening people’s enjoyment; with memorable costumes and set design, it has an identity through its image which is very distinct and therefore indelible and the bizarrely childish set with pastel colours, contrasts the dark nature of the games.

The complex world of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and her commentary on society

Tabitha M (L6)

The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic nation named Panem in which a totalitarian government rules over 12 Districts in what used to be North America. The events and social structure of The Hunger Games have many parallels with modern day society, implying that Collins’ novel is a social criticism of our world and of capitalism. For example, Collins uses the contrast between the obscenely rich Capitol and the impoverished Districts to reflect America’s rapidly widening rich-poor divide. But what exactly was Collins’ aim with her novel? And was her novel ever hypocritical of this aim?

Susanne Collins admitted in an interview that she took inspiration for The Hunger Games from the classic Greek myth Theseus and the Minotaur. She was horrified that Athens was compelled to send seven youths and seven maidens to Crete in order to be fed to the Minotaur after the death of King Minos’ son. She proclaimed this to be the “cruellest thing that you could do to the people of Athens”, and that it is worse than killing them, it is killing their children. This, of course, mirrors the basic idea of The Hunger Games, as after the Districts tried to rebel, the Capitol ordered each District to provide two children every year to fight to the death with the children from other Districts, as an annual reminder of the Capitol’s power. Her choice of the tributes being between the ages of 12 and 18 clearly takes inspiration from this myth, as she believes this would be the cruellest thing imaginable to do to the Districts. Furthermore, Collins also took inspiration from Ancient Roman gladiator fighting, stating that the three things needed to make a gladiator game; a ruthless all-powerful government, people being forced to fight to the death and it to be a popular entertainment, “are combined in The Hunger Games.” This shows that the core idea of The Hunger Games is rooted in our past.

However, Collins thought of the idea for The Hunger Games whilst watching the news of the Iraq war, which confirms that she believes these horrific games are not only similar to Ancient Romans, but also modern society. She explained how unsettling it is that you can be flicking through channels on a TV and one second you could be watching a stranger answering questions to win a million pounds, and the next could be very real footage of the Iraq war. She believes that the way we approach TV is not that different to that of the Capitol, as we are becoming desensitised to the horror of what is going on in the world due to too much of our lives being put on TV. Because the gameshow and the newsflash of the Iraq war are both plastered online, we may start to think that these events are so separate from us, but it is real life, and the disaster won’t go away when the adverts play. This is similar to The Hunger Games, as the Capitol citizens are so distracted by appearance-focused consumerism that they do not care that the games they support involve the actual murder of children. This idea also echoes the consumption of sweatshop clothes despite the fact that they are made in dire working conditions, but the consumers are too distracted by the low price and personal benefit. Some would argue that The Hunger Games is hypocritical as the PR, marketing and economics of the film’s production seem contradictory to this message. The franchising of the film as a Hollywood blockbuster, for example by dividing the The Mockingjay book into two parts, suggests the film’s money-making abilities are higher priorities than its role as a piece of social critique.

A key theme in The Hunger Games is power, and the misuse of it. The main power tool used by the Capitol is food, as the surplus of food in the Capitol (and subsequent overindulgence and waste) and the starvation in the Districts are equally used as tools for social control. A prime example of the Capitol using food as a power tool is the implementation of the tesserae system in which there is the option to receive extra food each month in return for having a higher chance of being reaped for The Hunger Games. This not only puts them at a disadvantage but also creates division within the Districts, which is of benefit to the Capitol.

Overall, Collins presents us with a seemingly very different society, but one which actually holds similar key concepts to ours. An example of this is the bombing and complete destruction of the al-Wafa hospital in Gaza in July, which was the only rehabilitation centre in the strip for thousands of innocent civilians. This reminded me of the scene in Mockingjay where the Capitol bombs a hospital in District 8, which left no survivors, which demonstrates that the Capitol’s actions are not so different to that of our society.

How are Games and Literature intertwined?

Zara S-J (Re)

Although not recognisable at first, games and literature are intertwined in many different aspects of life. In a book, movie or play, you watch a story unfold and watch it happen. In a game that you play, you make your own story, and you are in control, but in a book, you cannot determine what will happen, the future has already been written. Video games where mechanics are key mean that there is little to no story. These tend to be your classic video games and are currently most popular. This leans towards the idea that books and games have little in common, but when you examine deeper, you are able to open and explore many similarities which link these two topics.

The vital part of a novel is the story within its pages, and these stories aren’t just written and spoken in a book. Research suggests that early humans didn’t speak but used song to communicate. Humans were singing and painting long before they were talking and writing, and we are able to tell stories through music and images. For example, many classical music composers show that we don’t need lyrics to hear a story, and any art gallery portrays the idea that we don’t need words to understand the emotions in the story an artist is trying to convey within their piece of work. Humans see patterns everywhere, and we can make a story out of anything, whether it is in the form of a book, or in the form of games, regardless of whether they are board games, video games, or even sport/psychological games. These stories are narrations, but a game is the art of playing, and is just as important as storytelling.

There is a theory first created by the mathematician John von Neumann in the 1940s called Game theory. It studies interactive decision-making and how a strategic game is played, where the outcome for each participant or ‘player’ depends on the actions of all. Therefore, your course of action or strategy should consider the choices of others. For example, in chess, if your opponent has you in check, then you will make the decision to move your

king (to a safer square) based on the actions of your opponent. Similarly, in sports such as hockey, when an opponent comes to tackle you, you use their decision to determine the fact that you will then pass the ball to a free player, to save losing possession. These examples support Game theory, and if a book contains a series of decisions in which each character’s decision or choice is dependent on the previous ones of others, it looks like the layout of a game, according to the formal Game theory definition. This shows that the actions in some books can be very similar to that of a game. Consequently, irrational decisions or actions in a book are made rational in the context of a game.

Games can symbolise the difference between winning and losing, life and death, secrecy and foolishness, or strategy and randomness. The different lessons that a character in a book or its reader can learn from the many aspects of these games make what might be a complicated and deep story clearer to the reader. Games and literature influence each other, whether it be that chess grew from a small game in the sixth century Gupta empire of China, and spread worldwide, even to the point that the great Medieval author Geoffrey Chaucer used chess to animate a dream world. Or that the video game The Witcher was based directly off Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy novel series. This influence leads them to combine and link, and similar to the fact that the Latin language spread and influenced our world, both games and literature have extended and changed, taking many different forms – but they are intertwined because including many other features, both literature and games still all contain an underlying sense of imagination and creativity, which is necessary for them to thrive.

How do Casinos maximise their profits?

Anna R (Re)

Every human being, since humans were created, from their very childhood, is drawn to games. When a person is young this usually includes playing with toys and active games like tag, or acting games where, as a group, you act out and make up and act out a scene. The reason behind children’s interest in games is that they are very entertaining and great fun but also because most games are competitions which are played for a prize or a title. Winning or gaining possession of the prize is very satisfactory to humans, especially children, and is very addictive. However, over time, as children grow up, most of the time, the need to win gradually goes away. But there are some exceptions. Some adults don’t grow out of this phase of constantly desiring to win which is why casinos and other gambling organisations were built to provide casino games, sports betting, and lottery games.

Casinos are often regarded as ‘dirty’ as the customers win a small amount of money but overall, the casinos win, not only because the clients think they can win a huge sum of money that only a few people are able to obtain, but also due to their cunning design which maximises the casino’s profits by using strategic planning which attracts the customers and keeps them engaged, entertained, and most importantly, spending their money.

One way that casinos maximise profits is through meticulous planning of the design of the casinos themselves, notably excluding windows or clocks. The absence of these common features allows the casinos to maintain a unique advantage over their customers. The lack of windows prevents customers from gaining an access to the outside world, notably knowing the time of day. Often, the potential customers are alarmed after noticing the sheer time they spend within the casinos, therefore it’s in the casino’s best interest to use their creative abilities and foresight to make the outside world go away and keep the customer within and therefore spending more money. This is the same reason the casinos lack clocks, as their presence would alert the potential money spenders of wasted time. Another method the casinos use to keep their clients inside their casinos is their cunning maze-like design. Their machines and games are positioned in such a way that it makes it difficult for a customer to navigate. For example, the narrow hallways in between the slot machines bring the games as close as possible to the customer, almost forcing them to play. As well as the slick arrangement and placement of the slot machines, colourful LED lights, flashing colours and loud blasting music are also methods that are used to attract and lure the customers towards the machines which help increase their profits.

Another way that casinos influence the monetary income provided by their customers, besides the necessary absence of certain features, is by planning the careful and thought-through location of different facilities inside one’s casino. These facilities may include the bar or the bathroom which the customer will eventually want to visit at some point during their stay at the casino. These facilities are purposely situated deep inside of the casino and as far away from the exit or entrance as possible, therefore in order to reach them, a potential client must walk through new sections of the casino they haven’t seen yet and may not have intended to visit originally, moving further away from the exit which will keep the gamblers inside for longer, due to more distractions on the way out. While exploring these areas of the casino, the visitor would inevitably encounter distracting and tempting machines and games, such as roulette, slot machines and baccarat on their way to the bathroom or the bar. As with all the other games in the casino which are intended to draw people in, these games also carry out the same job in enticing the customer into spending money. However, if not for the specific placements of the necessary facilities, the client would not have come across other sections of the casino and other games that they haven’t planned to spend their money on originally. These facilities could include anything from bars to the exits.

An alternative way casinos profit is by offering large and cheap quantities of alcohol. This seems unusual, as casinos notoriously limit their budget on customers to be as cheap as possible to increase their profit income. However, the consumption of alcohol by the casino’s users is very significant as it noticeably increases the amount of money that the casino will gain overall. It is a well-known fact that alcohol interferes with the human brain and slows down one’s thinking. People who will be drinking alcohol in the casino will stop thinking as clearly compared to when sober, which will lead them to make more silly mistakes and to waste more of their money on machines and games in the casino. This will occur as they will not be in the right state of mind to think about what the right choice in the game is that they will be playing, whether to risk or not to risk. Thinking strategically is very important when it comes to gambling, especially in games like poker. In these games, it is crucial to understand and acknowledge the chances of getting the correct combination. However, when you are drunk you are not always able to recognise this, which will usually and most likely lead to you taking the unnecessary risk and losing your money. These points above make alcohol a significant advantage for the casino for the reason that it decreases the chances of the customer winning and increases the chances of the casino gaining money. This is why casinos provide large and cheap quantities of alcohol throughout the night at the casino which maximises the profit income of the casino.

Overall, I think casinos are ingenious organisations that appear to help fulfil one’s passion for gambling although major consequences will come if this passion isn’t controlled due to the precise and thoughtful planning of the casino to use human weaknesses as an advantage which prevents the clients from winning and encourages casinos to earn money.

Protest in Sport

Mathilde C-A (Re)

My approach on the theme of ‘Games’ is through protest in sport. While I was away in France, I noticed people taking down road signs bearing the name of their town, turning them upside down and screwing them back on. This unusual form of protest made me think about other times and places where protest had taken place. In my article I have chosen to highlight specific protests in sport history in the context of Black Civil Rights in America.

Muhammad Ali was a black boxer who was the first ever boxer to win the heavyweight championship three times (on different occasions) due to this he had a large crowd following who idolised him. Muhammad Ali was formerly known as Cassius Clay but changed his name when he joined the Nation of Islam. He spoke up about religious discrimination and racial inequality and the Vietnam War. In 1967, Muhammad Ali refused to be drafted into the American Army to fight in the Vietnam War due to religious reasons. This caused him to attract a lot of hostility. The World Boxing Association stripped him of his heavyweight title and banned him from boxing for four years. His argument of religious exemption was denied by the draft board, and he was given a penalty of five years in prison and $10,000 fine. In 1971, Muhammad Ali appealed to the United States Supreme Court and they ruled that claiming the First Amendment allowed him to have the right of religious freedom.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos were two Black American track athletes for the United States team. They were known to be frank about their opinions towards civil and human rights in America and internationally. Their most well-known protest is in the Olympics of 1968, where they both ran the 200-meter sprint and Tommie Smith won gold and John Carlos won bronze. During the award ceremony, the pair decided to highlight black poverty by not wearing shoes, as well as putting their fists up in a defiant salute. Even though this protest was peaceful the two were faced with death threats and were shunned in the following years by the United States Olympic Committee. Yet today their protest is praised and in 2008, 60 years after the Olympics, Smith and Carlos were awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award which recompenses an act thought to ‘transcend sport’.

muhAmmAd Ali

tommie smith And John cArlos

Colin Kaepernick was a backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, due to stay for another six seasons. When singing the national anthem in a preseason game, Colin Kaepernick decided not to stand as is traditionally done in respect to voice his opinions on police brutality and black rights especially linking to the police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile that past summer. Later in 2016, Colin Kaepernick chose to take the knee to show respect to military personnel after saying “I realise men and women of the military go out and sacrifice their lives and put themselves in harm’s way for my freedom of speech”. Although Kaepernick has founded groups such as I Know My Own Rights, he has not been invited back into the NFL after the end of that season.

In conclusion, many athletes have chosen to endorse their convictions and use the large platform awarded to them by their exploits and performances to further a cause important to their community, sometimes at great personal expense. Because sporting events gather such large audiences, they have been used as vectors of political protests since their creation.

colin KAepernicK

Should choice in gender affect sport?

Virginia M (Re)

Sport is a large part of many people’s lives, whether it is a career, hobby, entertainment or just some general knowledge, sport is undoubtedly a large part of modern society. The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece captivated vast audiences as the modern competition does today, the chance to become one of the elites is an impressive goal for many athletes. Fans can socialise and share a common interest in their love or hate of sports and as publicly displayed for example through football matches, many people are extremely passionate about their team. In recent times companies have taken advantage of the persuasive power of sport for advertisement. Some players sign brand deals to promote products to the crowds. However, sport, like most topics, has controversy and recently there has been an issue particularly in women’s sport as many people are concerned about the biological advantages of men compared to women when a transgender woman competes in the women’s category. However, others believe that there is not enough research to prove that there are significant biological differences between a trans woman and a biological woman with the hormone treatment and possible surgery that they undergo. They also believe that trans women are not going to take over women’s sport as it is a minority. Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable for a trans woman to compete alongside biological women as, trans women argue, they are women. Should sport be prioritising inclusion even if it means eradicating fairness in that sport?

An article in the National Library of Medicine written by Alison Heather, a molecular biologist, presents the biological advancements of men. She states that without the sex division, “females would have little chance of winning because males are faster, stronger, and have greater endurance capacity, male physiology underpins their better athletic performance including increased muscle mass and strength, stronger bones, different skeletal structure, better adapted cardiorespiratory systems, and early developmental effects on brain networks that wires males to be inherently more competitive and aggressive.” This fuels the males desire for victory and increases levels of testosterone. She goes on to add that no matter how much hormone therapy a man transitioning to be a woman undergoes, it would not change these physical advantages.

In the Rio Olympics of 2016, the gold medalist (male) finished the 10,000m race in 27.05.17 s however the female gold medalist finished in 29.17.45 s, she would have come 32nd in the men’s race. This is a repeating pattern throughout all sport, with male records generally higher than female records. The fastest time for a woman to complete the 100m race is 10.49 s set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. Usain Bolt is the fastest man to complete the same race and in a much faster time of 9.58. This is a lot of time difference for a track event and clearly displays the advantages of being male in sport. Is it fair to expect a woman to compete with a man who has such blatant physical advantages?

In a male aged 19 or over, there is 265-923 testosterone in nanograms per decilitre (ng/dl) in comparison with a woman aged 19 or over who has 15-70 ng/dl. This is a huge difference and is obvious even when going through the early stages of puberty. Testosterone encourages the development of men’s physical appearance, including the increase in muscle mass and strength. Therefore, to make a trans woman equal to a woman in a physical way, they must have been on hormone control from a very early stage in puberty to prevent these male characteristics from appearing. This is highly unlikely and consequently a trans woman would have an advantage physiologically to a biological woman.

For example, Caster Semenya is a South African middle-distance runner. She was named female at birth however, she is intersex, with a condition which only affects biological males. She has high testosterone levels compatible that of a male, and XY chromosomes. Individuals with this condition have male anatomy that are not developed by time of birth and so often are labelled as female or intersex. In the Rio Olympics in 2016, Caster won gold in the 800m, this caused controversy given her high testosterone levels. Lynsey Sharp (a Scottish 800m runner who is a medalist herself and finished sixth) broke down crying after being asked to discuss Semenya being light years ahead of other female athletes. Earlier Sharp had highlighted that there were “obvious competitors” who made it “like two separate races”. Caster Semenya has rejected being called intersex and refers to herself as a “different kind of woman”. Is this possible?

And even if she is a ‘woman’, is it fair to her competitors, biological women, as she has higher levels of testosterone and many prominent signs of being biologically male. Could she be a ‘different kind of woman’. Biologically, she cannot. Later in her career, because she has many male attributes, new World Athletics rules in 2019, prevented Caster competing with the women unless she took medication to suppress her high testosterone levels. Caster has filed several legal cases claiming the rules to be discriminatory and unnecessary. These rules did not just apply to Caster: it was for anyone with a condition that caused them to have high levels of testosterone which would make competing against them unfair, but the questions might also be is it fair to stop Caster competing?

Trans athletes are incredibly brave people who face society views daily and must fight to be able to play sports in the category that they are comfortable with. It can be argued that it is completely unfair to penalise a person who is in a minority and therefore their inclusion won’t have a huge impact or monopolise women’s sport entirely. Especially as trans women include ‘women’ in school sports teams, many harsh rules that are put in place now will stunt any chance that they have in later life for a career as an athlete. If trans women are truly women as they claim to be, then there is nothing that should stop them competing. Many take hormone suppressers to ensure that they are playing in a fair field. If they are taking lengths such as changing their body more than required or more than their personal comfort, to be able to compete in a sport they love, it is discriminative to bar them from the competitions.

I don’t believe that trans women should be allowed to compete in women’s sport, aside from the fact that they are biologically not women, it is completely unfair to allow them to compete with the advantage that they have. The sport industry takes great care over drug testing, among other things, to ensure that it is fair for all athletes to compete. Therefore, they cannot let this issue be ignored. To all the women who work so hard to be at the top and sacrifice time, effort, and money to be mowed down by a man claiming to be a woman is unjust and cruel. Although adding a third category for a sport may seem like singling out athletes and discriminatory, there is no way that sport can be fair and inclusive at the same time. It will break women as they are no longer sure that they will be able to win on a track or any other event if they are competing with a biological male. It is also stamping on any feminist to take away a women’s right to win an event of their own and be proud of it, you can’t say you’re a woman without understanding and feeling the emotions every day of struggles to be equal to men in every walk of life particularly sport.

The impact of Culture on Games

Sebastian G (Re)

Most animals play, but only humans play games. While the niches of human culture have varied drastically across civilisations and epochs, one of the few factors that has not wavered is the unequivocal presence of games. The partaking in games of some sort is as integral to our society as any other shared human experience. Despite this, their manifestation has been inconsistent across cultures throughout history, taking on many forms and serving many different purposes. This article aims to explore the reasons why such variations exist, and explain how this reflects on a society’s culture.

What is a game?

The definition of what exactly a ‘game’ is has long been a matter of scholarly debate. The term is largely arbitrary and has come to be used to refer to a large range of recreational activities. However, this definition is too broad for the purposes of this article, and therefore going forward I will define a game as an activity fitting the following characteristics: organised play, competitive elements, two or more sides, criteria for determining the winner, and agreedupon rules. Other recreational activities which do not satisfy this definition, such as non-competitive swimming, topspinning, and hiking, do not fit this definition and therefore will not be considered in this article.

All games may be classified in terms of distinctive patterns of play. Some outcomes are determined primarily by the physical abilities of the players, some by a series of moves, each of which represents a player’s choice among alternatives, and others either by non-rational guesses or by reliance on the operation of some mechanical chance device such as a die. All these ways of determining outcomes are widely distributed among the societies of the world, and it is therefore possible to offer the following general classification of games: physical skill, strategy, and chance. While there is some overlap in these categories, I believe these to be fundamental distinctions that sufficiently divide the broad category of games.

The relationship between games and the needs of a single society are immensely complex, and it is difficult to make generalisations about them. However, by analysing the data of tribes around the world, I will attempt to explain why certain types of games emerge. In this article I will refer to data gathered by John M. Roberts, Malcom J. Arth, and Robert R. Bush, on different games within 100 tribes worldwide. Among the 50 of these tribes that were sufficiently well covered, 19 had games of strategy, 19 had games of chance, 44 had games involving physical skill, and five were reported as having no games at all.

Games of chance

Games of chance seem to have a strong correlation with the religious beliefs of a given society. In the study by Roberts, Arth, and Bush, the religions of a sample of societies were analysed. These societies were then sorted onto a scale developed by William W. Lambert, based on the frequency of their gods’ benevolence and aggression.

The midpoint of each scale was defined as benevolent or aggressive 50% of the time. While the nature of this organisation is subjective, the data shows a clear connection between the behaviour of a society’s gods and their likelihood to play games of chance. As seen on the table below, the tribes with less benevolent and more aggressive gods tended to lack games of chance, and those with benevolent and less aggressive gods were more inclined to play them. Overall, in the case of benevolence measure, 15 out of 18 cases support this statement and 14 out of 18 cases with aggression.

This clear correlation between the nature of a society’s gods and their tendency towards games of chance suggests a significant interplay between religious beliefs and cultural practices. It is impossible to say exactly why this is, but we can come up with some compelling hypotheses.

Traditionally, the outcome of a game of chance has been perceived to be the work of the supernatural, rather than a truly random result. The Zuñi tribe of southwestern North America, for instance, worshipped eight gods of war, believed to be great gamesters, each of whom was associated with a specific game. When gambling on one of these games, the players invoked the proper god of war, and prayers for success were addressed to him. Equipment used in the games was offered at the altars of these gods.

A contemporary example of gods being regarded as involved in games of chance is the worship of local deities, represented by statues, in Taiwan. Some of these gods are asked by lottery players to reveal the winning numbers of the next draw. These gambling deities are given offerings, such as ‘spirit money’, and the lottery numbers are interpreted by means of various divinatory methods, such as looking for figures in the ashes of incense offerings and drawing bamboo lots.

Games of strategy

While games of chance have ties to the religious beliefs of a society, games of strategy seem to relate to the social complexity of a culture. Take for example, chess, arguably the most popular and widespread game of strategy in the world. In chess, both players have under their command an army of pieces, with each piece representing a role within the army. This correlation between social classes and the roles represented in games of strategy has led many anthropologists to theorise that since games of strategy simulate social systems, said social systems should be complex enough to facilitate the need for such expressions.

In 1957, G. P. Murdock published the World Ethnographic Sample, consisting of 565 cultures coded for 30 variables. Two of these variables, on levels of political integration and levels of social stratification, serve as a somewhat accurate way of measuring the social complexity of a community. 43 of the tribes researched by Roberts, Arth and Bush were covered by Murdock, and their results are shown on the table overleaf. With political integration, 32 tribes supported the hypothesis while 11 did not. With social classes, 31 tribes fitted the hypothesis and 12 did not. Among societies with either low political integration and no social classes or high political integration and social classes, 25 societies supported the hypothesis and five did not.

Further research by Peter N. Peregrine has indicated that games of strategy are also more common in societies where political power relies on a “network strategy” – the manipulation of social relations and symbols by political leaders for self-aggrandisement. He theorises that this is caused, in part, by the enculturation for

obedience, enculturation that takes place, partially through games. In this way, games can be viewed as tools functioning to enculturate a population in ways that help to maintain sociopolitical structures.

Games of physical skill

By far the most common type of game practiced across the globe, games of physical skill are the most difficult to make generalisations about. Each game is highly reflective of the needs of its respective society, for example, the three Mongolian ‘Games of Man’ (wrestling, archery and horse racing) were historically useful to aid the nation as a military force, and and the Maori game of ki-o-rahi helped develop agility and teamwork essential for their hunter-gatherer lifestyle. There does, however, seem to be some correlation between geographical location and the number of physical games in a society. Of 23 tribes living within 20 degrees latitude of the equator, 18 had fewer than five games of physical skill, while of 24 tribes living more than 20 degrees north or south, only nine had fewer than five games of physical skill. Despite this there is little conclusive evidence as to why this might be, and the disparity may purely be the result of incomplete data.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is an undeniable link between a society’s culture and the games they play. Games are deeply ingrained into human society at all levels, and are an integral part of the human experience. Games can serve as a reflection of a society’s culture, and by analysing the games a society plays, we can glean invaluable information about their core values and practices.

What is ‘The Game’?

Annie R (L6)

Disclaimer: reading this article you will immediately place yourself in the game. Once you are in, you can never be out. Created in 1976, The Game is said to have millions playing worldwide. The Game was founded by a member of the prestigious Cambridge University who first thought up the idea of The Game. The Game was thought to be a derivative of the mind game called Finchley Central. In the mind game, two players alternately name London Underground stations. The winner is the first person to identify Finchley Central. Naturally, the first person to shout Finchley Central would be the victor however between you and your competitor it is strategic to choose which time within the game to name this station. The game therefore could be over by the first round or go on until all 271 tube stations are named. It is about strategy and based on this sprung forward this idea. The Games entire motive is the idea of ironic processing: “A psychological phenomenon suggesting that when individuals intentionally try to avoid thinking a certain thought or feeling a certain emotion, a paradoxical effect is produced. The attempted avoidance not only fails in its object but in fact causes the thought or emotion to occur more frequently and more intensely”.

How to play ‘The Game’.

The Game is being played by everyone on the planet. (Another way to put this is: You are always playing The Game, or Everyone in the world who knows about The Game is playing The Game.) One cannot cease playing The Game; it does not require permission to play, and one cannot refuse to participate in it. If you ever think about The Game. You lose. Primarily when you ‘lose’ it must be announced. This can be in the form of social media or verbally to your surrounding players. Therefore, the entire point of The Game is not to think about it. You may forget about The Game for years or only just days at a time. But at random points within your school, social or everyday life you may hear or think about The Game. And sadly, for you, you have already lost without even knowing it.

What is the point of ‘The Game’?

There is none. The entire concept of The Game is that even if you do not know about it you are in. There is no winner or loser. The Game’s entire meaning is nobody ever wins The Game, you can only avoid losing and attempt to make other people lose by spreading the word about The Game. If you’re in The Game to win, you’re going to lose. Many have claimed The Game to be ‘annoying’, ‘insignificant’ and a ‘waste of time’.

But now you have read this, you are in. And there is no getting out. So, play The Game because even if you didn’t know about it before, others will, and if you are losing. So, shouldn’t everyone else?

The Virtuous Circle of Psychology in Sports Games

Jemima G (Re)

How much does a mental attitude affect sports performance, both in day-to-day life and at a professional level?

Sport is so important in our daily lives. We must not take it for granted and must utilise its benefits. Exercising and playing sport can increase your life expectancy for up to seven years according to the results of 13 studies. The mind releases endorphins that are positive and make you feel happy when and after exercising. Whether you’re playing in a friendly match for Marlborough College or in an Olympic final, having control of mind and focus really affects how you perform. Many athletes train mentally just as much as physically. When playing in a game, you must not let your opponent get in your head and you must focus on your own game. But does that mean that you cannot try to get in their head? Is this against the ‘spirit of the game’?

It is becoming increasingly clear about the benefits of sport and exercise on mental health and wellbeing. According to a study from the Government of Western Australia, “playing sport reduces psychological distress by 34% 1-3 times a week and 46% 4+ times a week.” This study also states that being “physically active is as effective as medication for mild to moderate anxiety and depression.” This is becoming an increasingly known fact and the American Psychiatric Association reports that “80% of people believe mental health impacts physical health”. These statistics show how important sustaining an active, healthy and balanced physical health is in keeping the mind happy and healthy too. So, sport is good for your mind, but if you play sport to a certain level, then you must train your mind to perform professionally and at the best of your ability.

Looking at preparation, many athletes and professionals must learn to embrace pressure and develop a mental toughness. Obviously, they must train their bodies physically, almost to the breaking point, but this does

not just apply to their physical state – they must match this extreme level with their mentality too. They can do this in many ways: goal setting, visualisation and scenarios, positive self-talk, mindfulness, breathing techniques, resilience training, routine rituals, and the list goes on. Professional sportsmen must practice facing all possible mental situations and outcomes before they happen. They must build an incredible sense of self-belief and confidence to remain optimistic when suffering in a downward-spiralling moment of match play. It is key that they practice embracing pressure as this is something essential to remaining calm and collected at the harder times in an event. There are also specialists in sport psychology who can provide professional and personalised mental coaching.

In both competitive and particularly professional sport, teams and coaches are looking to gain any possible psychological advantage in preparation and match play. However, this can conflict with the ‘spirit of the game’ and reduces the value of sportsmanship. There are many different mind games that you can play during a competition in sport. For example, showing no emotion, having a ‘poker face’ and turning the cold shoulder is one approach to getting inside their head by leaving the overthinking and emotional aspect to the opponent. Others find some form of distraction to put the opposition off. Guilt-tripping is an effective, but not morally right, way of gaining a mental advantage. Some players approach the teacher-teacher way by patronisingly adding suggestions in a way of ‘trying to help’ when really, they are just gaining control of the game.

It is clear to say that mental health has a huge impact on physical health for everyone in their everyday lives. More professionally and in sport, having a good, strong mentality can enhance performance and allow athletes to gain an advantage over their opposition. But you must also consider the rules, fairness and respect.

If it weren’t for Games

Will F (Re)

Sport has been an integral part of human civilisation since ancient times, with its origins rooted in our innate need for physical activity and competition. From primitive games to organised sporting events, the evolution of sport mirrors the growth of society itself. Ancient civilisations such as the Greeks and Romans celebrated sports as a way to honour their gods, foster social cohesion, and showcase individual prowess. Throughout history, sport has served multiple purposes beyond mere entertainment. It has been used to train warriors, demonstrate power, and unite communities. In some cases, sport became a source of diplomatic engagement between nations, exemplified by the Olympic Games’ ancient truce where conflicts were put on hold to allow athletes to participate peacefully.

The psychology behind sport reveals captivating insights into human behaviour and provides irrefutable explanations for its consistent global popularity. One aspect is the competitive nature of sports, which taps into our innate drive to strive for success and overcome challenges. In fact, many psychological sporting attributes directly relate to life skills such as working in social environments or even personal dedication and drive to completing individual tasks. Participating in or spectating sports allows us to experience the emotional rollercoaster of victories and defeats, reflecting the complexities of life itself whilst also sharing these ranging emotions with like-minded people with the same passion.

Furthermore, sport serves as an easy platform for social interactions and belonging through bringing people together and creating a sense of identity and community. Team sports, in particular, foster camaraderie, communication skills, and the ability to work towards a common goal. Individual sports, on the other hand, promote self-discipline, resilience, and personal achievement. The psychological benefits of sports come in abundance as they extend beyond social skills and community through teamwork, but also personal mental health as engaging in physical activity releases positive endorphins that reduce stress, lifts spirits and even improve cognitive abilities. Engaging in physical activity releases endorphins, providing both physical and mental rejuvenation. Additionally, sports teach valuable life skills such as discipline, perseverance, and goal setting, all of which are transferable to various aspects of life beyond the sports field.

Like any human practice, sport is not without its faults. At times, the world of sports can be marred by controversies, corruption, and unethical behaviour. The intense pressure to win can lead to doping, cheating, and a win-at-all-costs mentality due to the dependence of sports players on their own ability and success within the game. Moreover, the immense commercialisation of sports has sometimes overshadowed the purity of the game, compromising its integrity and leading to scandals that question the ethics and position of the game within society. Sports also continue to appeal as a gateway out of poverty for many through gambling and sports betting where the lack of support and regulations leads thousands of people each year into major addictions and mental health risks.

However, despite these faults, the benefits of playing sport far outweigh the negatives. Physical health is perhaps the most obvious advantage. Regular exercise helps maintain a healthy weight, promotes cardiovascular health, and reduces the risk of various diseases. Moreover, playing sports imparts discipline and a sense of responsibility to maintain fitness and prioritise one’s overall wellbeing. Another significant benefit of playing sports is the development of important social skills. Participating in a team sport teaches individuals how to collaborate, communicate, and solve problems together. It fosters a sense of belonging, friendship, and mutual respect. These interpersonal skills can positively impact all relationships as sports can teach core social values that are best learnt through games and collaboration, therefore leading to better teamwork and cooperation in all spheres of life. Furthermore, sport provides opportunities for personal growth and character-building as it teaches individuals about determination, resilience, and the importance of goal setting. It also instils values such as discipline, fair play, and sportsmanship. These qualities are crucial for success not only in sports but also in education, career, and personal life.

So, to conclude, sports have been such a core fundamental aspect within all societies as they contribute to both social education and social hierarchy as a by-product of the physical tests and internal battles fought between players during matches. Sports throughout history have naturally evolved within cultures to benefit societies as every sport from rugby to chess has some sort of positive result on the people of society. A game is unique to the player as each player is unique themselves, therefore the beauty of the diversity of sports can be revealed as no two sports are the same. Competition and games have consistently coexisted with society as they evolved with the times and separated into new branches of sport such as online games, therefore increasing the accessibility of the benefits of sport to a wider range of players. Finally, sports are so fundamentally intertwined within the development of our modern society that their positive impacts have psychologically, physically and socially enhanced our lives as we know it today. If it weren’t for the collaboration, determination and competition taught through sports, it is safe to say that the world as we know it would look very different if it weren’t for the instinctual human hunger to win.

Brain Injury in Action: How Contact Sports cause Traumatic Brain Injury and Disease

Eloise J (Sh)

Hurting yourself in sport is highly likely and sometimes inevitable, as it involves specific movements, speed and power. Sports require incredible skill and mistakes are made, even by the best athletes. For professionals in contact sports, however, getting hurt is part of the job as it is necessary for them to come into contact with others. Slamming into others does not come without more extensive injuries, including some that padding and helmets cannot prevent (indeed, padding and helmets can make some injuries worse as players believe they are stronger with them). Concussions are common within these sports, and have been diagnosed for years, but it has only recently been discovered that these concussions can lead to degenerative brain diseases.

The highlight for many Americans’ week is the football game (both professional and college), the fastpaced game that encourages so many to follow and support. This game involves a movement down the field, like arrow to a target, and an arrow will injure when it hits contact, especially for these athletes. CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes with repetitive brain trauma, mainly NFL athletes (but increasingly in other sports too). In CTE, scientists at the Boston University CTE research program believe (as this is still a relatively newly discovered disease) a structural protein in neurons called tau, following repetitive trauma, “misfolds and malfunctions, causing adjacent proteins to misfold, and sets off a chain reaction where this malfunctioning tau slowly spreads throughout the brain, killing brain cells”. Simply put, it causes the death of nerve cells in the brain, which is why it is known as degenerative. Early symptoms may include behavioural and personality changes and mood changes which can lead to depression and suicidal thoughts. However, as the condition worsens symptoms will include short term memory loss, confusion, disorganisation, and problems with movement. This is a gradual disease, with symptoms only appearing about 10 years after the repeated trauma. However, this disease can only be diagnosed after death in autopsy, making it more dangerous and makes action required towards head injury in this sport needed.

Leaving America, a sport that has become increasingly more popular across the globe is rugby. This game involves no padding or helmets making head injuries much more common. Unlike CTE, a slow-moving gradual disease, the rate at which rugby players brain are declining might even be faster than the NFL players. Rugby players at a professional team were followed by the University of South Wales research. The results of this research showed that after just one season (a rugby season spans roughly 8 months) there was a decline in blood flow to the brain and a reduction in cognitive function in all players. Cognitive function is the ability to remember

things, formulate ideas and overcome problems. Moreover, further findings have shown that there is a correlation between your position on the field and the rate at which blood flow and brain function is declining. In rugby, forwards are involved in more contact, and are therefore experiencing a more rapid recession in brain function than the backs. During games, players are receiving extremely powerful blows, causing them to black out; it was only in 2015 when players began getting checked on the field for suspected concussion. Before this time most concussions went ignored which is also why a handful of players are now experiencing early onset dementia, even more reason to bring in more rules and regulations.

Football is lesser thought of a contact sport, or a sport that could injure brain and head irrevocably. Heading the ball is very common on the pitch and a football balls weigh more than a can of soup. Such a can of soup can harm a brain if thrown at it and heading a football is even harder on the head than that effect. Concerns have only suddenly come up about heading the ball as numbers of former football players have revealed that they are living with dementia, including players that were on the 1966 England World Cup winning squad. Although there is less research evidence in this area than American football and rugby, scientists have determined an obvious link between head impact and dementia risk. If this link turns out to be evidentially proven, then there is a global health risk as football is the most widely played sport in the world. There is a real need to begin to limit the number of players who will be exposed to dementia later in life.

Contact sports are deteriorating minds and will continue to if more action is not taken. Dementia and CTE could become much prevalent, with many brains beginning to decline if cognitive function begins to worsen. The NFL has made changes to some rules to try and limit brain injury, but many have opposed this as it makes the game ‘less enjoyable to watch’. The game is still to be played, however, the support and excitement can still take place, even if the brain injury does not. Ways these sports have been asked to limit injury is to reduce the number of replacements, so fresher players don’t inflict more injury on those more tired. Rugby and football unions, however, still need to update the game to match the updates in the science.

Is winning worth it?

By Sophia B (Sh)

This question ultimately has no decisive answer. It can depend on many variables, including what activity or game is being played and why you might be taking part in it. The concept of winning can vary from person to person. A common definition is to be the first or best at a contest, competition or conflict you are a part of. In this article I will explore the different reasons for why winning is and isn’t worth it. I will also look into examples including sports and gambling, and whether winning the ‘Game of Life’ should be something we strive for.

Why Winning Is Worth It

Success, or winning, may result in many different rewards that feel worth it compared to the effort that has been put in. Examples include money, recognition and self-actualisation (achieving your full potential). Different rewards are received, or achieved, in many different activities, competitions and games that could range from sport to war. In sport you can gain a sense of achievement, money, and sponsorship from winning. In sport, success or winning may not be about being the best but succeeding in your goal of reaching a final in a knockout competition like the Olympics; people will have different concepts of winning.

Why is winning one of the drugs humans can’t get rid of? When you win your body releases a drug called dopamine. This triggers a good feeling in the reward area of your brain, that you want to experience again and again. For example, when you gamble at a casino or in horse racing and win dopamine is released. This is why gambling is addictive and why so many people become indebted doing it.

The desire to win is arguably hard-wired into human behaviour because we have a subconscious process that makes us dislike losing – called loss aversion. This means that we will be more worried about losing than gaining by winning, with two results. Firstly, because we are hard-wired to want to avoid loss, we assume that we must always win. What if someone strives hard and does not win? Is courage less praiseworthy than a win? A win may be a one-time occasion. Whereas, effort and courage are a part of one’s character and perhaps more important for us than winning. Secondly, we might take too many risks to win.

When the ends don’t justify the means

The common expression that the ‘ends don’t justify the means’ means that the method, or steps, you take to achieve your goals may not always be worth it. The effort you put into something is a component of whether your win is worth it.  The effort put in may be greater than the worth of the benefit of the win, so does what you’ve won justify the means to your end (winning)? In sports, the single-minded pursuit necessary to achieve success or victory may lead to damage of the mind (psychologically speaking) and loss of friends and family because of the determination and focus necessary. Therefore, winning, at times, doesn’t feel worth it if you have no one to share the success with afterwards.

Winning something like sports or gambling means there are winners and losers. Therefore, other people  are losing and so winning in these examples means someone else is affected negatively. Therefore, whether it be for these people or your own morality you may not necessarily feel like the win was worth it.

Some people enjoy gaming because you can win a number of times with relatively minimal effort. As well as this, some will get money for being the best at a certain game or winning at gaming championships. Others believe it is a waste of time and money. Due to the addictiveness of the game you can lose track of the time, playing until you finally win.  Other times people will spend real money for advantages in games they may not win and if they do win it’s only virtual.

Russian Roulette is an example of winning not being worth it; the danger of taking part is too great. It is played by each player in turn placing a single round in a revolver, spinning the chamber, and pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at their own head. They have a one in six chance of a lethal injury, the gun is passed onto the next player. One person wins, the uninjured one, gaining all the entry money in the process. To get the money there is a chance that you will kill yourself in the process. Immanuel Kant said that human life should never be used as a means to an end but be an end itself. In Russian Roulette you are using your own life as the means to the end (money). There is a much higher chance that you will kill yourself than get the money and so winning this game, whilst perhaps an extreme example, isn’t worth the risk of your life.

A pyrrhic victory is a term that originates from the Greek king Pyrus when he won a battle in 300BC but lost so many soldiers and resources that his victory ultimately wasn’t worth it. Therefore, a pyrrhic victory is when you win but at such a great cost to your own side, or yourself, that it isn’t worth playing the game, or in military terms fighting the war. An example of a pyrrhic victory is the First World War. France, whilst on the winning side, lost over 1.4 million people (or 3.5% of the population), industrial production fell to 60 percent of the pre-war level and France didn’t recover at least 50% until about 1925, but still didn’t completely recover until after the Second World War. Everyone involved in this devastating war, especially the French thought ‘never again’.

Winning the game of Life’

The game of life, or success in life, has many different variables associated with achievement, which we could categorise in a similar way to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs pyramid. This describes human needs and motivations, often building on basic needs to esteem and self-actualisation. The pyramid includes physiological needs, safety, belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualisation. To have success in life could, objectively, be considered to need all of these variables. However, some people will take an individual, or subjective, view on what is important to them, be it love, happiness, money, or self-actualisation. Setting your own goals means you can be successful if you achieve them, regardless of whether anyone else sees them as a win. A happy fisherman will believe they have gone further in life than an unhappy president.

Conclusion

Overall, I have come to the conclusion that the worth of winning depends entirely on the circumstances and the activity. Sometimes you gain more than you lose and sometimes it is the opposite way around. Winning and losing can teach you about the tough and unfair times in life; setting goals and striving to achieve success helps build confidence especially when that win represents a true accomplishment.

Marlborough College, Wiltshire SN8 1PA www.marlboroughcollege.org