We create sports so that we can unleash our competitive nature (which also helps improve us) in a humane and entertaining way. Unfortunately, this instinct is often unleashed through war, where many lives are at stake. I often thought if we ever went to war with aliens, this would help unite all of mankind to a common goal, as we'd see just how much we earthlings have in common. This is a recurring trend: similarities unite, disparities divide. As perspectives broaden, what we once considered major disparities become "acceptable small differences". Gender, skin color, religion, culture, sexual preference, etc. these were once a basis for segregation (to some extent they still are). What we have in common with one another is MUCH greater than any of these differences. A Caucasian may have more in common with an African American DNA-wise than with another Caucasian, i.e. race doesn't exist (fact).
I would argue that being a life form, is the greatest similarity and we should all cherish it. LIFE IS VERY RARE IN THIS UNIVERSE. On earth's surface it may seem plentiful, but think about all the "dead" rock below our feet, or the sky above you. Think about how small earth is in this vastly void universe. Living organic matter constitutes a minute amount of the total mass of the universe, and yet we continue to divide ourselves by our differences, when we have so very much in common. We can get lost in our day-to-day perspectives.
When people say "life's not fair", they're usually referring to the random outside forces of nature beyond our control/perception. Unpredictable events can happen where no person is at fault. Some refer to this as "God's Will". A family member gets cancer, or dies in a tragic accident. Instinctively we become angry that something has been taken away from us, and we want to focus that anger and blame it on something (or in the worse case, someone or group of people). Many people cope with their feelings using religion and God. Tragically, religion is often twisted into justifying actions against other people who have been blamed for something that wasn't their fault either.
My point is this: living creatures have much in common (eyes, ears, legs, emotions, DNA, parents/children), and many outside forces are at work that we cannot perceive nor predict (yet). These often cause us pain and suffering. Our goal should be to reduce suffering by preemptively seeking to understand these outside forces. The solution is not directly apparent, and often times, the solutions will be found accidentally. But they won't be found unless we make an attempt. Pain, suffering, and sympathy are usually the driver for improvements/advancements, thus suffering is a necessity for change. Change is gradual. In a sense, scientists are the soldiers fighting the "unknown", constantly broadening mankind's horizons of understanding.
I want you to imagine that the universe is a giant cage that all sentient beings are trapped in, and instead of working together to figure out why we're here, why things happen the way they do, how to "get out", or understand it better; instead we fight amongst one another, spend $ trillions on war, let millions of people starve, and place blame on each other. The real enemy is the unknown/randomness of the chaotic universe we live in. Our overarching goal should be to discover WHY we are here, help one another, and determine "randomness" by achieving an understanding of the complexity of the dynamic systems in our universe.
We are so easy to accept our existence in this universe, but HOW did we get here? We never had a choice to be brought into this world. Why are things the way they are? If you want the easy way out, religion will tell you not to worry about such things: be content and don't strive for deeper understandings, especially if they conflict with the "infallible" words of god, which just so happen to be very different in a variety of holy text versions.
In a deterministic universe, we have more control over events, we can enforce safeguards. Two centuries ago we didn't even know bacteria existed. People became sick and accepted that's how things were. Well... not everyone. A few scientists strove to understand the causes. To investigate and conquer the unknown, and that is just one example of how science has helped increase determinism in support of life forms (except maybe not for the bacteria and viruses).
It's long been a belief of mine that
"Nothing is random; the pattern/model is just exceedingly complex."This is not to say that we will be able to comprehend the complexity of the universe overnight, but in the long term this must be our goal as a
Each time we determine an unknown, a new, more complex, unknown will take its place (is there an end to this trend?). If we ever do remove ALL unknown randomness from our lives, we will eliminate an ingredient that has shaped us from the beginning, so we must tread carefully toward reaching a more deterministic understanding of the universe.
If only it were easier to get everyone on the same page, imagine what the world could be like. We'd only need a "military" to defend us against any unpredictable outside forces as a safety precaution to account for any remaining uncertainty.
Mankind would celebrate life, help and love one another, while seeking to understand our origins and the inner-(and outer) workings of the universe. I dream of that kind of society.
