Play Money Parts 5, 6, and 7

Part 5 of Play Money talks about Gold Farmers. I thought the part about Bob explaining to Dibbell how a person could potentailly cheat the system and get lots of gold quickly without doing any work was interesting. By setting up all the computers and making them run the copy of UO and obtain gold for him is a very smart concept. In my view I believe that this is cheating, because no work is being done and everything is being obtained. Even though I think this is cheating I can't help but be impressed by what was done to make all the computers work the way in which it did.

Later Dibbell went sraight to the source and asked the operator of all these computers, Rich, to see how he did it. Rich said that bots control the charcters for him. But there are also things such GMs that try and look for these bots to kick them out of the system. Some ways they do this is by going up to a character they think is a bot and asking it what color a stick is that they hold up in front of them. If it is a bot they cannot think for themselves and anwser the question correctly. One way that Rich got around this was by making the bots Im him or text him when a GM sowed up. This idea seemed crazy to me. It seemed as if his cheating plan was fool-proof. Even though I still thought of this method as cheating I had to give ich credit for being able to think of a plan to run against the GMs. If someone was smart enough to think of all the loop-holes and cover them, I suppose they deserved to be able to cheat the system.

Later on Rich got tohether with Lee and for a time it seemed as if their parternership worked well together, but unfornatley it later crashed when they thought that they were lying to each other. The gloves were off and they were now at war.

Part Six talks about Dibbell's thousand dollar's and a dream. His goal was to make a thousand dollars by the time that his wife and daughter came back which was three weeks. His dream was to be able to make UPO and actual profession. He was able to make the thousand dollars and even a little extra. He wanted to tell the IRS that he job was selling UO goods as his primary source of income.

In part seven he talks about the IRS and he questioned how he would tell the IRS how much money he was making. He did not know how to report his income and was confused by the whole process of it. He wanted to do everything legally. The questions that he bring up were very interesting. I could not anwser any of them, without having more legal information. Overall, I like what Dibbell had to say about his whole experience so far in the book.

Play Money

At the begining of tis book I did not know what it would be about, but after reading a little of the first chapter I knew I would like it. It started out with the noob, which is a beginner at playing a game. I played online games before and everyone starts out as noobs, but once you get better at the game you get annoyed at noobs for being so stupid at the game. It's kind of ironic because everyone starts out as a noob yet no one else likes it. The idea of being able to get items that aren't real in a game, and sell it online at a site like eBay, for real money is a crazy concept. This was not the first time I have heard of this concept though. My brother plays online games as well and he tells me that he is able to sell some of the things he has in the game for a good amount of money online. He has never bought or sold any items for his profile, but it is out there for others to do if they wanted to. If I was playing a game online, I don't think I would buy things, but I am also not a fanatic at a game. I like the idea of getting money for things that are not real, but it seems like it would take a long time to do some of the things that is discussed. The idea of having spanish people playing the game for him is a good idea I suppose until he was caught and his operation was shut down. This idea was good at first but unfornately for him it did not work. The ideas in this book are very interesting. I wouldn't mind doing this for a living, but I would want to make sure I know exactly what I am doing, because it seems that this job could be risky. One problem with this profession would be my parents. I don't know how my parents would like me playing games for a living, but that's beside the facts.

A Whole New MInd Chapters 8 and 9

Chapter 8's topic was play. The concept of laughter clubs was brought up in this chapter. At first, well, I thought the concept of this kind of funny. It seemed weird to me to have a laughter club, but I understand what Pink says about laughter being infectious. When other people around me start to laugh, I start to laugh as well even though I might not know what they were laughing at. It goes back to the concept of empathy in chapter 7.

I think that play is necessary in life. Poeple can not be serious all the time. There has to be time to relax and play so the stress of the workplace will not be overwhelming. One way that people can do this is by playing games. Pink says that games are actually not as bad as parents think for thier children. It can actually teach thier children lessons. Pink also says that games are not only for children, but that it can also be used for adults, and is good to get away from other things. I agree with him. People get into a routine every day, and do not change what they do. This can be boring eventually. Some change is needed.

At the end of the chapter in the portfolio, Pink suggests that we play more right-brain games. He also says to dissect a joke. This can be done to find a deeper comprehension of the joke. This can be important as well, to see why people laugh at certain things, and what people get enjoyment out of.

The next chapter talks about the topic meaning. In this chapter Pink talks about the spiritual side of life and religion. He tells us to take spirituality seriously. Religion could be very helpful in our lives and even for our health. He says that people who believe in religion lead healthier and calmer lives. I find him to be correct with this concept as well, at least for me. I like to think of myself as a pretty religious person. I pray quite often and go to church as well, but this does not necessarily mean that I am religious. I have a deeper understanding for my religion and actually take part in it, and I believe that it helps me and makes me calmer when doing so.

In the portfolio section of this chapter Pink raises the question: what would you do if you inherited $20 million dollars, or what would you do if yo found out that you had at most 10 years to live? If you whould change how you live then Pink says that you should think of how you live your life now. I thought this was interesting as well, because I think that if anyone received either one of those questions above they would change around his/her life somehow. I know I would, but it still did not change me from doing what I am doing now on a day to day basis.