A couple of days ago, I visited the local Borders bookstore. I made my way to the cafe there, and was struck by the sight of about ten stereotypical computer geek types, all playing go. I heard some Slashdot-type topics discussed; anime, random Monty Pyhthon lines, and the like.
How did I know they were geeks? Two of them were bearded Linux user types … wearing Linux t-shirts. Most of them had … uhh, doughy, pear-shaped bodies. All of them were men. There was lingering body odor.
I’ve seen groups play chess at book stores. Not geeks. I’ve seen groups play Scrabble. Not geeks. The Go group, though … they looked (and smelled) like the same crowd I’ve seen during late night travels to college computer labs years ago.
Is there a correlation between classic geekdom, and the game Go? If so, why?
Go uses logic on many different levels. Yes, it has the strategy elements of chess, while beating that game hands down for elegance. For the geeks this is often a game that plays to their strengths. It also looks cool. As I am typing this, here in the data center, there are 2 go games in progress.
The rules for Go are as simple as can be. The complexity of Go is orders of magnitude above that of chess. A computer Chess program that anyone can buy can beat all but the best of the world-class Chess masters. The best Go program on the planet can’t beat hardly anyone. That sort of thinking appeals to geeks (that’s me).
PS The same comments apply to Bridge as well. Bridge programs suck.
You’re probably thinking of Gomoku rather than Go. Gomoku has a much simpler objective than Go, and smart computer algorithms are easier to develop for Gomoku.
I love Go, though I suck at the game, and I could be considered a geek. Well, maybe. I don’t have the classic geek look but I have the classic geek job.
I am a network admin. I’ve done it for years. Right now I work for a gaming web site. I’ve done *nix, Windows, DOS, Mac, AS-400, programing in C, Pascal, Fortran…well you get the idea.
At the same time I made my living for a while playing rock ‘n’ roll in bars and various other places(#1). Most people never guess that I do 'puter stuff for a living.
As far as Go goes, most the people I know who play either have degrees in math or physics. PHD’s at that. It’s a game that requires a lot of heavy thinking. Not many people find heavy thinking to be fun. If more people enjoyed heavy thinking we would have more math-physics-computer people in the world. (#2)
Slee
#1. My band opened for some fairly big acts. Anthrax and Megadeth come to mind.
#2. Not math, physics and computers are the only subjects that require heavy thinking.