Ludocris
@1biggame.bsky.social
🎲 One Big Game 🎲 The game ends only when we decide to stop playing.
🔹 8/ Play isn’t just a quirk of evolution—it’s how we make sense of existence. Every scientific experiment, every philosophical thought, every artistic endeavor—they’re all forms of play. Reality itself is a sandbox for discovery.
March 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
🔹 8/ Play isn’t just a quirk of evolution—it’s how we make sense of existence. Every scientific experiment, every philosophical thought, every artistic endeavor—they’re all forms of play. Reality itself is a sandbox for discovery.
🔹 7/ This is why human play scales—it evolves from childhood games to mythologies, religions, economies, and even the rules of reality itself. We don’t just play—we construct worlds of meaning through structured play.
March 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
🔹 7/ This is why human play scales—it evolves from childhood games to mythologies, religions, economies, and even the rules of reality itself. We don’t just play—we construct worlds of meaning through structured play.
🔹 6/ Wittgenstein called this language games—the idea that meaning is created through use and context rather than fixed definitions. Language gave humans the ability to formalize play, turning it into systems that could be built upon across generations.
March 22, 2025 at 5:25 PM
🔹 6/ Wittgenstein called this language games—the idea that meaning is created through use and context rather than fixed definitions. Language gave humans the ability to formalize play, turning it into systems that could be built upon across generations.
🔹 5/ what makes human play unique?
📌 Players – Both animals & humans have players.
📌 Actions – Both experiment & play with different actions.
📌 Payoffs – Both play for learning & social bonding;
📌 Information – This is the key difference: humans can label play, create rules, and build on structures.
📌 Players – Both animals & humans have players.
📌 Actions – Both experiment & play with different actions.
📌 Payoffs – Both play for learning & social bonding;
📌 Information – This is the key difference: humans can label play, create rules, and build on structures.
March 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
🔹 5/ what makes human play unique?
📌 Players – Both animals & humans have players.
📌 Actions – Both experiment & play with different actions.
📌 Payoffs – Both play for learning & social bonding;
📌 Information – This is the key difference: humans can label play, create rules, and build on structures.
📌 Players – Both animals & humans have players.
📌 Actions – Both experiment & play with different actions.
📌 Payoffs – Both play for learning & social bonding;
📌 Information – This is the key difference: humans can label play, create rules, and build on structures.
🔹 4/ Animals engage in all of these:
🐺 Wolves wrestle for Agôn (learning dominance & hierarchy).
🦜 Parrots mimic speech & behaviors for Mimicry.
🐒 Monkeys play risky jumping games for Ilinx.
🐭 Rats have been observed engaging in random chance-based play (Alea).
🐺 Wolves wrestle for Agôn (learning dominance & hierarchy).
🦜 Parrots mimic speech & behaviors for Mimicry.
🐒 Monkeys play risky jumping games for Ilinx.
🐭 Rats have been observed engaging in random chance-based play (Alea).
March 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
🔹 4/ Animals engage in all of these:
🐺 Wolves wrestle for Agôn (learning dominance & hierarchy).
🦜 Parrots mimic speech & behaviors for Mimicry.
🐒 Monkeys play risky jumping games for Ilinx.
🐭 Rats have been observed engaging in random chance-based play (Alea).
🐺 Wolves wrestle for Agôn (learning dominance & hierarchy).
🦜 Parrots mimic speech & behaviors for Mimicry.
🐒 Monkeys play risky jumping games for Ilinx.
🐭 Rats have been observed engaging in random chance-based play (Alea).
🔹 3/ Caillois identified 4 types of play:
🎲 Agôn – Competitive play (chess, sports)
🎭 Mimicry – Role-playing, imitation (pretend play, rituals, theater)
🎲 Alea – Games of chance (dice, gambling, luck-based interactions)
🌪️ Ilinx – Play that disrupts perception thrill-seeking, psychedelics)
🎲 Agôn – Competitive play (chess, sports)
🎭 Mimicry – Role-playing, imitation (pretend play, rituals, theater)
🎲 Alea – Games of chance (dice, gambling, luck-based interactions)
🌪️ Ilinx – Play that disrupts perception thrill-seeking, psychedelics)
March 22, 2025 at 5:23 PM
🔹 3/ Caillois identified 4 types of play:
🎲 Agôn – Competitive play (chess, sports)
🎭 Mimicry – Role-playing, imitation (pretend play, rituals, theater)
🎲 Alea – Games of chance (dice, gambling, luck-based interactions)
🌪️ Ilinx – Play that disrupts perception thrill-seeking, psychedelics)
🎲 Agôn – Competitive play (chess, sports)
🎭 Mimicry – Role-playing, imitation (pretend play, rituals, theater)
🎲 Alea – Games of chance (dice, gambling, luck-based interactions)
🌪️ Ilinx – Play that disrupts perception thrill-seeking, psychedelics)
🔹 2.4/ But play isn’t just a means to an end. Animals often engage in "purposeless" play—spinning, sliding, throwing objects, making nonsense sounds. This suggests that play isn’t just preparation for survival—it’s part of the fundamental experience of being alive.
March 22, 2025 at 5:23 PM
🔹 2.4/ But play isn’t just a means to an end. Animals often engage in "purposeless" play—spinning, sliding, throwing objects, making nonsense sounds. This suggests that play isn’t just preparation for survival—it’s part of the fundamental experience of being alive.
🔹 2.3/ Some argue play is about social bonding. Roughhousing, chasing, and mimicking behavior all reinforce trust and cooperation within groups. Without play, many species would struggle to build the social structures necessary for survival.
March 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
🔹 2.3/ Some argue play is about social bonding. Roughhousing, chasing, and mimicking behavior all reinforce trust and cooperation within groups. Without play, many species would struggle to build the social structures necessary for survival.
🔹 2.2/ Another theory: play builds cognitive flexibility. The most intelligent species—primates, dolphins, crows—are also the most playful. Play strengthens neural pathways, encouraging creativity and adaptability in unpredictable environments.
March 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
🔹 2.2/ Another theory: play builds cognitive flexibility. The most intelligent species—primates, dolphins, crows—are also the most playful. Play strengthens neural pathways, encouraging creativity and adaptability in unpredictable environments.
🔹 2.1/ One explanation: play is training for life. It lets animals practice motor skills, social behaviors, and problem-solving in a low-risk environment. Kittens stalk and pounce to prepare for real hunts. Wolves play-fight to learn dominance structures without real injury.
March 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
🔹 2.1/ One explanation: play is training for life. It lets animals practice motor skills, social behaviors, and problem-solving in a low-risk environment. Kittens stalk and pounce to prepare for real hunts. Wolves play-fight to learn dominance structures without real injury.
🔹 2/ Play is a biological paradox. It’s costly (burns energy), risky (injury is possible), and has no immediate survival benefit. So why has evolution favored it?
March 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
🔹 2/ Play is a biological paradox. It’s costly (burns energy), risky (injury is possible), and has no immediate survival benefit. So why has evolution favored it?
🔹 1/ Play is older than language. It’s found across species, from mammals to birds to even some insects. But why? Why do we chase, wrestle, and experiment with the world for fun?
March 22, 2025 at 5:22 PM
🔹 1/ Play is older than language. It’s found across species, from mammals to birds to even some insects. But why? Why do we chase, wrestle, and experiment with the world for fun?
🔹 Cui bono? Who benefits? This is the key question behind #OneBigGame. The system isn’t broken, it’s working exactly as designed. By whom and for whom? Every rule in the game exists to serve someone.
March 22, 2025 at 12:04 PM
🔹 Cui bono? Who benefits? This is the key question behind #OneBigGame. The system isn’t broken, it’s working exactly as designed. By whom and for whom? Every rule in the game exists to serve someone.
🔹 11/ If enough players see the game for what it is, they might just change the rules—or even flip the board entirely. Stay tuned. The game is far from over. #OneBigGame ♟️
March 16, 2025 at 11:34 AM
🔹 11/ If enough players see the game for what it is, they might just change the rules—or even flip the board entirely. Stay tuned. The game is far from over. #OneBigGame ♟️
🔹 10/ This is exactly what I’m exploring in #OneBigGame, a historical analysis of the capitalist system framed as a game. The goal? To use the logic of games—something we’re all programmed to understand—to reveal the mechanics of the system we’re trapped in.
March 16, 2025 at 11:33 AM
🔹 10/ This is exactly what I’m exploring in #OneBigGame, a historical analysis of the capitalist system framed as a game. The goal? To use the logic of games—something we’re all programmed to understand—to reveal the mechanics of the system we’re trapped in.
🔹 9/ If life is a game, the real question is:
🎲 Who is setting the rules?
🎲 How do we change them?
🎲 Can we end the game—or co-opt it for the benefit of all players?
🎲 Who is setting the rules?
🎲 How do we change them?
🎲 Can we end the game—or co-opt it for the benefit of all players?
March 16, 2025 at 11:32 AM
🔹 9/ If life is a game, the real question is:
🎲 Who is setting the rules?
🎲 How do we change them?
🎲 Can we end the game—or co-opt it for the benefit of all players?
🎲 Who is setting the rules?
🎲 How do we change them?
🎲 Can we end the game—or co-opt it for the benefit of all players?
🔹 8/ Famed ludologist Roger Caillois called this a “corruption of games”—when a game seeps into reality and solidifies, its magic circle expanding until it engulfs every aspect of life. Over time, the game stops looking like a game. It becomes "just the way things are.”
March 16, 2025 at 11:31 AM
🔹 8/ Famed ludologist Roger Caillois called this a “corruption of games”—when a game seeps into reality and solidifies, its magic circle expanding until it engulfs every aspect of life. Over time, the game stops looking like a game. It becomes "just the way things are.”
🔹 7/ This game already exists. It’s called the political-economy. Its goal? To expand its player base while limiting actions and payoffs for the majority. Most players never even realize they’re playing—let alone that the rules can be rewritten.
March 16, 2025 at 11:30 AM
🔹 7/ This game already exists. It’s called the political-economy. Its goal? To expand its player base while limiting actions and payoffs for the majority. Most players never even realize they’re playing—let alone that the rules can be rewritten.
🔹 6/ But what if a game wasn’t designed for fun, learning, or strategy, but instead for control? A game where:
❌ The rules are hidden
❌ Payoffs are manipulated to benefit a select few
❌ Information is restricted to keep players from understanding the game itself
❌ The rules are hidden
❌ Payoffs are manipulated to benefit a select few
❌ Information is restricted to keep players from understanding the game itself
March 16, 2025 at 11:30 AM
🔹 6/ But what if a game wasn’t designed for fun, learning, or strategy, but instead for control? A game where:
❌ The rules are hidden
❌ Payoffs are manipulated to benefit a select few
❌ Information is restricted to keep players from understanding the game itself
❌ The rules are hidden
❌ Payoffs are manipulated to benefit a select few
❌ Information is restricted to keep players from understanding the game itself
🔹 5/ This PAPI framework helps define games. In any game, players take actions, and the system translates those actions into payoffs based on available information. The payoffs could be points, resources, power—whatever drives the game forward.
March 16, 2025 at 11:30 AM
🔹 5/ This PAPI framework helps define games. In any game, players take actions, and the system translates those actions into payoffs based on available information. The payoffs could be points, resources, power—whatever drives the game forward.
🔹 4/ Games are a special kind of play, but not all play qualifies as a game. So what makes something a game?
📌 Players – those who act within the system
📌 Actions – the choices they can make
📌 Payoffs – the consequences of those choices
📌 Information – the knowledge available to players
📌 Players – those who act within the system
📌 Actions – the choices they can make
📌 Payoffs – the consequences of those choices
📌 Information – the knowledge available to players
March 16, 2025 at 11:29 AM
🔹 4/ Games are a special kind of play, but not all play qualifies as a game. So what makes something a game?
📌 Players – those who act within the system
📌 Actions – the choices they can make
📌 Payoffs – the consequences of those choices
📌 Information – the knowledge available to players
📌 Players – those who act within the system
📌 Actions – the choices they can make
📌 Payoffs – the consequences of those choices
📌 Information – the knowledge available to players
🔹 3/ This is where play comes in. Play allows us to test, refine, and externalize those mental models. It lets us experiment in a low-risk environment, helping us adapt to an unpredictable world. But not all play is the same… and that brings us to games.
March 16, 2025 at 11:28 AM
🔹 3/ This is where play comes in. Play allows us to test, refine, and externalize those mental models. It lets us experiment in a low-risk environment, helping us adapt to an unpredictable world. But not all play is the same… and that brings us to games.
🔹 2/ Right now, your brain is handling an overwhelming amount of input. The air on your skin. The weight of gravity. The vastness of the universe. It’s too much to process at once, so we rely on approximations—mental models that help us make sense of reality.
March 16, 2025 at 11:28 AM
🔹 2/ Right now, your brain is handling an overwhelming amount of input. The air on your skin. The weight of gravity. The vastness of the universe. It’s too much to process at once, so we rely on approximations—mental models that help us make sense of reality.
🔹 1/ Play isn’t just entertainment—it’s an ancient evolutionary behavior, possibly older than language itself. It’s found across countless species, yet its true purpose remains a mystery. Some say it’s for socialization, others for survival. But what if it’s something even bigger? 🧵👇
March 16, 2025 at 11:28 AM
🔹 1/ Play isn’t just entertainment—it’s an ancient evolutionary behavior, possibly older than language itself. It’s found across countless species, yet its true purpose remains a mystery. Some say it’s for socialization, others for survival. But what if it’s something even bigger? 🧵👇