(OT) Are gamers close minded?

[tleilaxu]

some are some aren't. gamers aren't any more easily generalized about than ________________ (insert nationality/religion/race/gender of choice)

 

[LostSoul]

some are some aren't. gamers aren't any more easily generalized about than ________________ (insert nationality/religion/race/gender of choice)

Not entirely true. All gamers play games, must have time to do so, must have the imagination to do so, and must see a reason to do so. So that rules out very busy people, people who can't picture themselves in a different land as someone else, and people who don't care to picture themselves in a different land as someone else.

 

[Bagpuss]

I'm happy to see threads on religion and politics closed, its not what I'm looking for on this site.

However Fighting Words (which is nearly all religion and politics) is my favourite forum on Nutkinland.

I don't like the doorbell ringing while I'm in the bath. That doesn't mean I never like visitors.

 

[Gez]

Look at all these people who hates all gnomes because they've read a DragonLance novel (reading such crappy litterature is a cardinal sin IMHO, but that's not the point).

Can't you say it's a proof gamers are close-minded.

What ? Yes, I've never read any Dragon Lance novel. But it's crap nonetheless. Why ?

 

[Umbran]

Gamers are people. Like any other people. No better, no worse. The hobby indicates very little about the person.

On the subject of open mindedness... Well, there's a saying - it's good to be open-minded, just so long as you're not so open-minded that your brains leak out.

 

[jasper]

games are not different from any other group
I have met the following:

Super genisus with 2 degrees, can discuss various issues with out resulting to emotional attacks, but would trust him with a spoon and have make sure he does not walk out in traffic.

High school drop out. Trust him with a m-16 but if wasn't the game, football, woman and beer. He was interested.

various types in between to include
one who didn't believe in inner racial marriage or adoption,
one hated jews,
one hate athesist
one hated hunters
one hated catholics
one hated the school system
one hated another gamer at the table.

Etc

how I do see what trying to say.

Nowdays its
YOU must respect my opinion. and not hurt my feelings.

When I grew up
I RESPECT your RIGHT to have an opinion but will laugh at the opinion.

Which when is see IMO in posts it set my teeth on edge. Because if not a rule I can check in the book, or a fact, everything else is an opinion. Tho I will generally go along with the flow to silence the nitpickers etc who take one badly worded sentence and say see mr plato that makes billy bobs argurement wrong.

About your case of marriage, hey we all go crazy in our own way. Why do you think they call it commitment.

 

[Desdichado]

Re: ...

I was just referencing our little intellectual community because you cant even OPEN a thread here about religion and have it stay open. It's like its the policy to just close threads relating to religion.

Uhh, you do realize that it is the policy to close threads related to religion? For that particular topic, the board owners would just as soon avoid the inevitable rancor that such discussion inevitably engenders. Now, if you go to Nutkinland, you can see all that close-mindedness in action!

As to your question, sure gamers are close-minded. A lot of gamers like to think that we're somehow an "elite breed" of folks, more intelligent, more imaginative, more open-minded than the masses. IMO, that's a bunch of hogwash. Gamers are just like everyone else in the world; the only difference is that we find it entertaining to engage in group sessions of spontaneous fiction generation.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Roland: I am completely open-minded and you are wrong. Nothing you ever say will change my mind.

Kidding. Just a little sarcasm there.

But really, there's an old saying that when you get together with the relatives or the in-laws or the business associates...there's two topics from which you should always steer clear: religion and politics.

Which is, no doubt, why it's the rule here.

Now you started out with the proposal...

We Gamers, we're so busy patting ourselves on the back for being educated, intellectual, open minded individuals, that we
fail to see the reality of the situation.

Okay, valid point. I agree with Crothian and others, in that EN World members are a cross-section of individuals with a wide spectrum of open- or closed-mindedness.

But then you turned to...

but in my experience in 20 years of gaming, nearly to a man, regarding religion, gamers shut down.

So you were really talking about religion the whole time. Bad form, Roland. Bad form.

Then we come around to the old chestnut...

DOES GOD EXIST?

Simply not the topic for discussion here. Even if you half-heartedly tie it to RPGs with

And you dont think this is relevant to a fantasy world?
what about a cosmology that uses this as its creation device?
Each player is actually an incarnation of a god.. but they dont know it.

You also claim

You'll notice in my post, the idea of gamers being close minded is a question. not a statement of fact.

But if you look back at the first quote in my post, and at your own first post, you'll see that there's not a single question mark anywhere to be found. Those sure look like statements to me, not questions.

Finally,

I'm just saying, It's very easy to attack someone who says "I believe in something", or "I think this is true"...downright cowardly, in my opinion. The mark of a great mind is the ability to entertain an idea without accepting it. It just looks to me like we're afraid of entertaining an idea that doesnt fit our world view, because we may accept it.. or we're too lazy to commit to thinking about things.

I'm of the opinion that BELIEF=STUPIDITY.

Let me explain. As soon as someone says "I believe..." they are proclaiming that they know and have faith that a given proposition is true. They believe it. There's no sense in continuing to think, consider, rationalize something that you believe to be true. "I believe that sidewalks are solid." Therefore, I never again have to think about sidewalks and their solidity. I know it's true. By the same token, if you say "I believe God exists" or "I believe God does not exist" or "I believe the Universe is expanding" or "I believe the Universe is contacting" then you've shut out all other possibilities. You've simply stopped thinking about it. Not thinking is pretty stupid.

I don't believe anything. I feel things, I act on assumptions, and I'm not a nihilist. But I'm willing to entertain any notion.

And right now I feel that you, Roland, will go through any subterfuge or semantical somersaults necessary to keep talking about religion on these boards.

Frankly, you're being rather closed-minded in ignoring all the people who have tried to tell you that it's just the rules around here.

Oh, and finally, I wouldn't let Mormons into my house to talk to me about religion. The fact that "MORMON" and "MORON" are almost the same word is no coincidence.

Hong, you need to stop restraining yourself. Just say WANKER if you mean WANKER!

 

[smetzger]

1) Gamers are diverse, you cannot have a blanket statement saying they are open minded or close minded.

2) Most people who say they are open minded are not. They typically are not open to the idea that there could be one world view that is right and true while all others are wrong, false, or misleading.

This topic is better suited for nutkinland.

 

[smetzger]

Re: Re: (OT) Are gamers close minded?

I'm of the opinion that BELIEF=STUPIDITY.

I don't believe anything. I feel things, I act on assumptions, and I'm not a nihilist. But I'm willing to entertain any notion.

You do believe in something. You believe that there is _not_ one exclusivly true belief system.