# Name a competitive activity humans engage in but never cheat at **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 19, 2019, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295 "2019-07-19T08:05:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/41 "2019-07-19T19:40:45Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Tic-tac-toe is a zero-sum game - that means that if both sides play optimally it will always end in a draw. In that situation, I don’t see how we can reasonably call it a ‘competitive activity’ per the OP. It’s a flowchart with a foregone conclusion. > > If the odds of winning and losing are both 0%, you aren’t competing at all. That’s a very fair point. ---
**Author:** ![borschevsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/42 "2019-07-19T19:48:47Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Tic-tac-toe is a zero-sum game - that means that if both sides play optimally it will always end in a draw. In that situation, I don’t see how we can reasonably call it a ‘competitive activity’ per the OP. It’s a flowchart with a foregone conclusion. > > If the odds of winning and losing are both 0%, you aren’t competing at all. Checkers is also a draw with best play, and so is chess (probably). If computer cheating is possible in chess, then it is also in tic-tac-toe, at least for a player who hasn’t memorized the optimal play. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/43 "2019-07-19T20:33:44Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Living the longest. Recently the late Jeanne Calment was alleged to have done exactly this. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/44 "2019-07-19T21:30:02Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I think it’s impossible to cheat at the SDMB’s Death Pool. If you kill one of your picks, you’re cheating. And committing murder. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/45 "2019-07-19T22:27:09Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > The Game. > You guys just lost it, BTW. Not till after you lost it! ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/46 "2019-07-19T23:02:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > If you kill one of your picks, you’re cheating. And committing murder. I think we can all agree that the former is \*much \*more morally reprehensible than the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Wallaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Wallaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallaby)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/47 "2019-07-19T23:20:15Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > Wait, what? There are? I’d like to learn more about that. I don’t think there are any skills such as ‘I will now throw a 5 and a 3’. All you can do is increase your chances of certain number totals coming up. To use a trivial example, I could hold the dice with 2 6’s uppermost - then, if I could drop the dice from a height of 1mm, I’ve got a pretty good chance (of course, this would attract the attention of your fellow players immediately, leading to repercussions ranging from gentle ribbing to getting your thumbs broken). There’s a fairly basic one that involves stacking the two dice vertically in your hand and throwing the stack so that it stays in a vertical orientation in the air. This “should” (YMMV) increase the chance of the uppermost face on the bottom die remining uppermost on the table after landing. So you could orient the dice for a 6 or 1 on the top face of the bottom die to increase the chances of a higher- or lower-combination. You’s probably get away with it once or twice in a friendly game (maybe when someone is getting the nibbles) - more than that and it would be pretty noticeable. There’s a thousand youtubes of people showing this and far more complex throws. Casinos generally do not care if you try to do these - they have the rules about bouncing off multiple walls which will ruin your careful placement of the dice in your hand. Nevertheless, they do watch the throwers and will ‘have a chat’ if they think people are spending a bit too much orienting the dice in their hand etc. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/48 "2019-07-20T02:04:16Z")
Interesting. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/49 "2019-07-25T14:47:12Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Living the longest. There are several thousand Japanese people who would like to dispute this. > **[Thousands of Japanese centenarians may have died decades ago](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/10/japenese-centenarians-records)** > > More than 77,000 people aged 120 or over – 884 aged 150 or higher – are listed on government records as still alive ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/50 "2019-07-25T17:24:13Z")
In what way are they cheating? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/51 "2019-07-25T18:01:32Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > In what way are they cheating? The dead people aren’t cheating, obviously, but anyone citing the longevity due to Japanese government records is doing so with inaccurate information. If they did so knowing that the records were inaccurate, and this was a competition, that would certainly be cheating. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/52 "2019-07-25T19:48:12Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > I think we can all agree that the former is \*much \*more morally reprehensible than the latter. Depending on who you killed at least. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/53 "2019-07-26T02:04:53Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > I’m trying to think of a contest where cheating is impossible. Sorta like… when I was a kid, and my brother and I both wanted the last piece of meat/cake/whatever at dinner, my parents would decree that one of us would divide the remaining portion, but the other would pick first. at his was a simple and effective way to prevent disputes. So, is there a game that works on the same principle, where if you try to cheat you only give an advantage to your opponent? My parents did the same thing. My mother learned it from _her_ parents. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/54 "2019-07-26T10:12:35Z")
Is it possible to cheat in sex? Like not on your partner, rather somehow fooling your partner into thinking you’re much better than you actually are? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/55 "2019-07-26T10:26:40Z")
Curling. The game is essentially self-governed and even in recreation leagues I’ve never, ever seen anyone cheat, or try to cheat. Curlers always report any infractions to the opponents; there rarely are any and it works equally for both teams. You get a lot of respect for telling the other team that you burned (touched) a rock, for example. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/56 "2019-07-26T13:07:33Z")
I came in to say curling. I have never heard of cheating in curling in my entire life. I’m sure it’s happened, but the sport is astoundingly, well, sportsmanlike. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/57 "2019-07-26T15:16:52Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I came in to say curling. I have never heard of cheating in curling in my entire life. I’m sure it’s happened, but the sport is astoundingly, well, sportsmanlike. I guess as the OP is worded, it is possible for this to be be true. It certainly is possible to cheat at curling, but the OP says an activity that people engage in and never cheat at. If the culture of curling is strong enough that the risk from cheating would be so high, and reporting yourself would have long-term (even if not short-term) benefits, then cheating could theoretically be non-existent in the sport. That said, I don’t believe it. I’m sure that some tiny fraction of curlers will do it if they are positive no one will know. And probably another tiny fraction in, say, recreational leagues who will try to get away with it off of bluster/intimidation, even if ultimately they get tossed from the league or whatever. The OP standard is just too high for relying on the honor system, even if it’s a very strong one. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/58 "2019-07-26T15:35:01Z")
[And yet.](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/sports/olympics/olympic-curling-doping-reaction.amp.html#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&_tf=From%20%251%24s) The culture of self-governance is likewise very strong in Ultimate, but that sportsmanship fades as the stakes get higher. If it ever makes it to the Olympics (fingers crossed!) I’m sure a doping scandal won’t be far behind. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/59 "2019-07-26T20:05:58Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Is it possible to cheat in sex? Like not on your partner, rather somehow fooling your partner into thinking you’re much better than you actually are? Blindfold your partner then swap places with a buddy while you go watch the game. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295/60 "2019-07-26T20:28:02Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > when I was a kid, and my brother and I both wanted the last piece of meat/cake/whatever at dinner, my parents would decree that one of us would divide the remaining portion, but the other would pick first. at his was a simple and effective way to prevent disputes. What my sister did was, she would cut the cookie into two pieces - one big and one small. And use psychological pressure to try to coerce me into taking the small one :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-competitive-activity-humans-engage-in-but-never-cheat-at/837295.md?page=4)