That's one of the coolest things in life. I used to teach a unit on memes. Those are ideas that are not stolen, but rather are parasites that infect us and make us do their bidding. Part of it was about a "Psi-Bank", which was a collective unconscious soup containing all thoughts ever generated. I can't remember who coined the word Psi-Bank, but I know that the word meme was invented by Richard Dawkins.

The crossword puzzle phenomenon was popularized by Ken Kesey, or one of those famous hippie writers. He wrote a fake documentary study of a group of monkeys who learned to wash sweet potatoes (although they had never eaten them before) from another group of monkeys who had learned to wash sweet potatoes to get the sand off of them since the scentists had been feeding them... on another island with no contact with the first group. It was called the Hundredth Monkey, it was really famous, and it was a total fraud that was based on something that the crossword puzzle scientists later proved.

I sure don't.

I once worked with Nick Herbert, a quantum physicist who wrote Quantum Reality. We were trying to work out an experiment with two identical paintings. One would have been viewed by thousands of people, and one would have been hidden from sight. We could never quite get the logistics of how to measure their popularity, but you can bet that the one that had been viewed massively would have been much more attractive.

I'm currently taking a Psycology class based on creativity. Recently the teacher showed us one person's theory of how creative ideas come around;

Imagine a circle with 3 layers;

--------
Domain
--------
Field
--------
Person

Domain is the history, the rules, ideas etc..within a given subject whether it be sports, CCG's or music.

Field includes all the people within the subject. In sports they could be the coaches, athletes, commentators. These people play and live by the rules and ideas of their domain.

Person is the individual person. They are influenced by the Domain and Field. Now what can make this individual 'creative' is when they create a viable idea that permanately influences the Domain.

Basically the idea is that given all the ideas and history floating around within a certain domain someone will eventually come up with a 'creative' or new idea. Einstein was a creative genius.... but given the knowledge and crazy ideas bouncing around the domain of physics, if he didn't come up with the theory of relativity someone else would have...eventually.

In VS, you can say that you arrived to an idea first, or maybe were the first to suceed with the idea, but in the end someone else has (most likely) had the same light bulb turn on in their head.

It's mine, I made the deck a month ago, and posted it on a non English forum. ;)

Seriously, even though I had the same idea and came up with a initial decklist (that was quite different from theirs apart from the drawing theme and the teams obivously), it was BeastBoy123 who came up with a decklist that worked and Makaveli placed well with it.

Since we know exactly who designed the deck that won why not give the designer the credit for designing a PCQ winning Thunderbolts-Gang deck and the winner credit for winning the PCQ with it.

Coming up with a untested decklist != coming up with a PCQ winning decklist != winning with the deck.

So while the main idea behind the deck does not have to be unique as more than one person separately can come up with the idea, the person(s) who designed a tournament winning deck and/or won with it first deserve credit for those achievements.

And who says that designing has to be done by a single person. Even when one person has the majority of the input, others can help by suggesting cards, playtesting against it, etc.

I agree. I am writing up a report to give them their due on Metagame. Should be up on Monday.

All philosophy aside, it is mad fun to race with everyone else to the spotlight of being the first to do well with something that is being brewed all over the world. It has been that way since we started, it rewards those who swim against the stream. To take a deck that has not been seen yet on the circuit and make a name for yourself, that's a big part of our glorious game.

The 'some other guy' was Leibniz. And while I love Newton like a brother, Leibniz actually derived more of the nomenclature that we use today:

"Leibniz is the other inventor of calculus. During his time, he and Newton argued over the ownership of their discoveries, each staking a claim as the inventor of calculus. This dogfight eventually involved many prominent mathematicians all over Europe, and remains pretty much unresolved.

Leibniz initially intended to study law, but was rejected by the law school. He eventually developed an interest in mathematics and was influenced by Pascal's works. The notation that he developed eventually became the standard notation we use today, mostly because it is easier to use and understand compared to Newton's."

Gooooooogle-rific!!

Am I allowed to comment on this SmokingSocrates since I have my BS in Mechanical Engineering and I currently teach Mathematics? Or is that still not enough to appease your appetite for credentials?

I think I feel a case of credentialitis coming on... :surprised

Am I allowed to comment on this SmokingSocrates since I have my BS in Mechanical Engineering and I currently teach Mathematics? Or is that still not enough to appease your appetite for credentials?

I think I feel a case of credentialitis coming on... :surprised [/b][/quote]

Man, put those things away. Leibniz also created a famous argument for the existence of god (The Greater Good argument in response to the problem of evil). Proof that you can be so smart in one area and entirely wrong in others (that would be math and god, respectively). In this case, we have Torch a brilliant engineer and mathematician (with a BS!), but can we trust his views on VS? :rolleyes:

In any case, the winners write history. Although, one player may have invented a deck, some balding forty year old may pilot it to a top forty finish in the PC. The deck, rightfully so, is associated with the person taking it to the top.

I love you Kingpin. Even if I can't fit my arms around you for the hug.

Touche! You pole-puffing philodendron fostering philosopher. Trust only as much as your soul will allow.
Interesting. Do you mean the winners make history? Because I could see your point in that case. The winners are remembered, and the decks are associated with them.

However, the phrase 'winners write history' is commonly used to mean "the winners of the wars write the history, while the losers' story, perspective, and voices are drowned out".

Comparing this to VS, your one-eyed, balding forty year old with a limp would be the winner with the deck and therefore the only one associated with the build, even though there could be a co-creator or even deck-originating-creative-genius behind the scenes that never gets props - even though they were the method behind the madness.

I will not stamp either perspective with the all too restrictive 'rightfully so', but I am curious as to the thoughts of the community regarding a deck and its place in the environment.

Glory to the Victor! or Share the Wealth!

?

:cheeky:

Haha! It enkurred...oops I mean occurred...to me after reading this later that my hypothetical may have some real world applications. No slight intended to any florida-based, balding forty year olds.

Torch will tell you that it is all in good fun. To the victor go the spoils!:knockedou

Bubba, I wouldn't have tried to hug you if I wasn't all in good fun myself. And did you just call me "slight"? Go puff a pole.

I'll interject and bring something a little closer to home. You may want to check who actually owns the "Kergy's Korner" and "Barn Door Challenge". :) I guess I need to start protecting my interests as the owner of this site.

I smell me some CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS!!!!!

Will it become "Kergy's Rectangular Side Area" and "Shed Door Challenge"?

Tony, I'd love to. I asked and asked and asked if you still wanted it, then I found it a new home when I got no reply repeatedly. In respect, the new one is called Barn Door Reborn, even though it is a "barn door challenge" as a classification. Like, a "Sealed Pack" tournament.

I guess that would only work if his name was "stushed". LOL!