Competition

[Mole]

Life itself is a competition. Everyone MUST play the game -- or suffer. Creativity generally is just a tool to achieve success.

Je refuse, and I join the Salon des Refusés.

I refuse competition. I refuse to play competitive games. I refuse to compete in love. I refuse to compete in art. I refuse commercial competition. I refuse military competition. I refuse to compete with my children.

Rather I listen to the murmur of the heart, the longing for love, the delight in creation, the loneliness of the broken hearted.

And I join my heart with the suffering of others.

And I take as my role model Simone Weil (pronounced Vey), the first woman graduate of the Sorbonne and a mystic.

 

[skylights]

I’m curious about others' attitudes to competition and perceived competition. Below are two scenarios, I want to know what the responses would be.

Case scenario 1:
Suppose you’re studying a subject where the professor is an unobliging sluggard that denies students past or practice exams. There's also no set textbook for this subject so you’re lost for questions to practice with. Now, suppose, your classmates shrewdly determined that the year prior to yours had practice exams and they managed to secure these practice exams and forward them to some classmates (you were one). If your good acquaintance asks for a copy, would you give it to them if you’re not in direct competition?*

I'd probably share them even if we were in direct competition, though I'd try to eliminate risk of me getting caught having them. I don't really worry about studying competition. I have solid study methods and am a good test-taker. My grade is typically commensurate with how much actual work I put into studying, and I'd like my classmates to also have the opportunity succeed in a class, particularly one that is slated against them.

Case scenario 2:
As part of an assessment, you’re required to research recent peer-reviewed articles to debate your topic for an online discussion. You’re very skilled at this, but your friends aren’t. Would you help them achieve good research skills in this case?*

Sure. I used to work as a school tutor. This is basically part of what I was paid to do.

I am a competitive person but I tend to be more concerned about my skills and abilities and ultimate goal achievement, and not so much the exact grade numbers obtained.

The one exception to my above answers would be if we were in a situation where I would definitely be penalized for others' success - like if the prof was only giving 5 As (yes, I have had a professor crazy enough to do this...). In that case, I would probably not be sharing!

 

[Glint]

Scenario 1: Yes, why not? It builds friendship and has really no downside.

Scenario 2: I would give them pointers in the right direction, but I won't look up sources for them.

 

[Ghost]

I’m curious about others' attitudes to competition and perceived competition. Below are two scenarios, I want to know what the responses would be.

These two situations wouldn't fire up my competitive spirit. School/day jobs don't do it for me. If it was an actual contest and rewards were limited, then that would be more of a competition to me.

When someone is striving for the same goal as me, they're probably not going to do what I do. Even if they do what I do, they're not going to use the same methods or come from the same perspective. They're not going to get the same results as me.

I'd like to help people after I've established myself in my field. Waiting is mainly about competition—once I've reached a certain level I'd feel more secure—but it's also about making sure my ideas all hang together. Establishing myself would validate my methods. I don't want to find out my ideas were nonsensical and led people astray.

Also: if people can't figure it out for themselves, I doubt I'd consider them competition in the first place.

Now, suppose, your classmates shrewdly determined that the year prior to yours had practice exams and they managed to secure these practice exams and forward them to some classmates (you were one). If your good acquaintance asks for a copy, would you give it to them if you’re not in direct competition?*

Sure, even if they were bad acquaintances, I wouldn't mind lending it to them as long as they didn't scamper off with my copy.

Case scenario 2:
As part of an assessment, you’re required to research recent peer-reviewed articles to debate your topic for an online discussion. You’re very skilled at this, but your friends aren’t. Would you help them achieve good research skills in this case?*

Yes. There's a limit to how much time and effort I'd sink into it, but it's happened before that I get invested in trying to help someone. I tell them how to do it themselves and leave them to their own devices. If it looks like the person is being lazy, I'm out. I'm not babysitting someone else's project. They need to put the work in. It's not because they're my competition; it's because I'm not their mule.

I get competitive about stupid things like Scrabble or finding the last thingamabob in stock. Generally, I have a hard time seeing others as competition even when they technically are. Maybe it's because I'm so self-absorbed I don't care what other people are doing. There's nothing I can do about them anyway, so why waste time worrying about it?