There is a game which is played by those unlucky enough to be duped into it called "The Game". There are 3 simple rules to The Game:

1. Knowledge of The Game is the only thing required to play it (whoops, shouldn't have read this!!).
2. If you think about The Game, you lose.
3. If you lose The Game, you must announce it to anyone else who also plays.

Can you ever win The Game?

(In reply to Not losing by A P)

Since winning is not defined in the game, we try several scenarios for the winning criteria:
1. Winning means not losing ever.
2. Winning means not losing at any given moment.
3. Winning means being the last one playing who has not lost.

Taking #1, then we have all lost the game, since we are thinking about the game as we learned of its existence.  Being aware of the second rule is irrelevant - whether you know it of not, you have still lost.  Also, whether you announce it or not (rule 3), you have still lost.

Taking #2, then as soon as you stop thinking about the game, you are winning.  Clearly one can have knowledge of something without actively thinking about it. 

Taking #3, there are two sub-possibilities:
3a) Once you lose you cannot restart.  This will make it impossible to win the game, since you lose hte moment you learn of the game.
3b) You can restart the game after losing (presumably once you stop thinking about the game).  Then it would be possible to win the game if at a given moment everyone else who has knowledge of the game (who is playing the game) thinks of the game, leaving you the only one who knows of it and is not thinking of it.

I, for one, will probably never think of this game ever again after today.  I win.

Posted by Dave on 2007-12-06 19:27:57