Rubik's Cheat Codes and the War
Do We Cheat Ourselves by Looking For Easy Answers in Computer Games
Jun 16, 2007
Recently a boy received a Rubik’s cube as a present. He was fascinated on and off for weeks until one day he lost patience with trying to solve the puzzle, and asked his mother to find a Rubik’s-Cube-Solver on the internet. This boy had used the internet as a problem-solving tool for everything from how to make your own salt water taffy or homemade volcanoes, but his mother was quite sure that a Rubik’s cube solver did not and could not exist.
The mother was surprised to find a site where the boy could type in his cube configuration and get step-by-step instructions on how to solve the cube. The mom was impressed that her son’s instincts to problem solve via the internet were successful, and that he had learned something new as well. After all, one of his mom's favorite quotes is, “If you can imagine it, someone has already done it.”
The quest for the Rubik’s cube solver was fueled by this smart boy's knowledge of cheat codes for various games he plays like Avernum 4 a computer game, and Star Wars Battlefront, an Xbox game. Cheat codes exist in most games whereby the user can render themselves immortal by entering the proper code. There are other cheat codes for better weapons, more health and the like.
So the question is this: In our quest to find easy answers to difficult problems, have we neglected teaching ourselves the finer skills of critical thinking and problem solving? Are we always waiting for the cheat code instead of burning midnight oil looking for homegrown brainstorms? Have we so lost the powers of introspection and self-reflection that we no longer value perseverance?
Which brings one to the War in Iraq. John Stewart and the Daily Show jokingly refers to the conflict as Mess-o-potamia, but the reality is that the War is a major problem that needs to be solved. Current American President George W. Bush is so stymied by the results of his creation that he has already said that the next President will have to take care of the chaos and violence that is Iraq. So why is it that one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations in the world cannot bring order to a nation it chose to invade? Why is there no definitive plan of action to restore order, services, and peace to Iraq? Where is the timetable of actionable items that will fix the Rubik’s cube of Iraq? If our leaders are waiting for the cheat code, we are all lost.
While we wait for resolution to the Iraq War, fix your Rubik's cube here.
