The Meaning of Sports, Telenovela Drama, Moral Societies
Three Point Thursday
Hola amigo,
This week’s edition features some thoughts on the culture of sports, a fun way to learn Spanish, and a wise quote from the great physicist David Deutsch.
The meaning of sports.
It goes without saying that the best relationship to have with sports is to be a player. Because when it comes to watching sports, there are far too many people who do this in such a toxic way. I’ve been guilty of it myself—and still feel the itch for it sometimes—but I think sports betting culture is much more than innocent fun. It’s more so a sad cycle in which people recklessly gamble while getting drunk and spending a gross amount of time in front of a TV. All while being full of anxiety the whole time over things they can’t control. This may sound like a prude take of sorts, but hear me out—this dynamic corrupts the beauty of witnessing greatness in sports. Baseball, basketball, and football are awesome games full of inspiring levels of competition, camaraderie, and mastery of a skill. But the addicted gambler doesn’t care about that, though. Instead of watching game seven of the World Series with awe at all the drama and all the talent, they’re whining over their bet not hitting. They would be better off deleting the gambling apps and picking up baseball itself instead.
Telenovelas are a cheat code for advancing your Spanish skills.
My girlfriend and I have been watching the telenovela Lo Que La Vida Me Robó. If you’re learning Spanish, shows like this are a good way to help your comprehension skills—as long as you have the subtitles on in Spanish and not English. This show in particular is so damn entertaining and hilarious. I swear, telenovelas just wouldn’t work in English. The way Spanish sounds is perfect for this type of over-the-top drama.
If a society stops correcting errors and solving problems, it is doomed.
“Could it be that the moral imperative not to destroy the means of correcting mistakes is the only moral imperative?”
— David Deutsch, The Beginning of Infinity
Keep shooting,
Jeff