christopherj comments on Singlethink - Less Wrong

30 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 06 October 2007 07:24PM

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Comment author: christopherj 13 December 2013 05:16:14AM *  0 points [-]

Glad to know it wasn't just my own summer camp which was that deranged.

Far from it. I suspect it's a fairly universal game, either to signal "I am tough", or practice for handling pain or fear.

The version of this game popular in my country involves taking turns kicking a soccer ball at each other from a given distance, usually while the target is facing a wall. Whoever kicks the ball is up next, even if they miss. I assume it is a positive sum game, because kids would play this game of their own volition, though that could be because they don't want to refuse when invited. It was a rather uncommon game, relative to proper games.

I've also seen a game called "mercy" where the fingers of both parties are interlaced and bent backwards until someone gives up, the game called "chicken" involving driving cars at each other (which I've heard a lot about but never seen played), the crushing handshake, truth or dare. However, the most intriguing one is the drinking contest.