Don't hate the player, hate the game

"Some of their rules can be bent, Others can be broken." - Morpheus, The Matrix

Saw this post on Twitter this morning and it got me thinking...

@ericamayer: "----> RT @REALChaseAdams: Don't forget that unlike your regular Klout score, familyKlout starts back at 0 everyday. It can't be gamed."

It took me back to something my friend Greg once told me when we were getting a drink.  He was trying to tell me not to game the system.  I don't remember WHAT system I was trying to game, but I think he was just trying to give me general advice.

That just doesn't work for me.  I've been programmed to try to find a way around the system.  A part of it is the human nature of trying to get the most out of something at the least possible cost.  But I think video games may have been the biggest influence on me on this matter.  You know how it is, learn the patterns, learn the rules, and exploit them.  It's been ingrained into my brain.  I'm constantly trying to figure out how to solve problems, with a combination of tackling and sidestepping them.

I applied myself in college the same way.  After a year, I discovered that I didn't need to be at class every day (not that I had to, since I was going to a state school).  Do the homework, show up to the lecutres a couple days before the test, learn what would be on the test, then study to the last minute, and I'd be fine.  I wasn't looking for a 4.0 anyways, I was happy staying over the 3.0 mark.

I think some of my friends go annoyed by this.  My freshman/fourth year roommate had his nose closer to the grindstone than I.  Putting in more time hitting the books, while I was trying to coast.  Yeah, he got better grades than I (he deserved it), but still.

And his girlfriend, she was CONSTANTLY studying to work on a Pharm.D.  Pages and pages of study notes, lots of tests, lots of work.  During my last year at NDSU, I'd stop by to visit with her and the rest of my friends in her quad, and she'd always be in the living room, pouring herself over all of it.  I'm sure there were a few times she (and her roommates) would want me to leave to they could prepare in peace.

Someday, I'll be able to unplug myself from the Matrix and relax.  Until then, I keep an ever vigil watch on the reality around me, so I can find the next exploit and game the system.