Chapter 5
Infinite Game
In his quirky philosophical treatise, Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility, New York University professor James Carse describes life as a game with two types of people: finite and infinite players. Finite players accept the roles life gives them (e.g., college student, manager, lawyer, parent, spouse) and play by the received rules in an effort to win. Infinite players play with the roles and bend the rules, not to win the game but for the joy of playing.
For example, rather than buy art for a collection, New York City–based art collective MSCHF purchased Damien Hirst’s painting L-Isoleucine T-Butyl Ester for $30,485, cut out its eighty-eight colored dots “so everyone can have a spot” (priced ...
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