1 post tagged “cheating definition”

What is your definition of cheating?

I had a big long thing here, and then I deleted it in favor of what I really want to say, which is this: cheating is always a second- or third-party activity.  *I* don't cheat.  I may not always consider myself bound by the same rules as the rest of the players, but I don't consider it cheating when I do.  When I do it, it's a competitive advantage, or some other rationalization.

So I Wiktionary'ed the word, because I do that sometimes, and I found that it most generally means "deceptive behavior," which I guess is how you can cheat at cards and also at relationships, which was always a bit on the strange side to me.  When you're generally cheating to win, doesn't that make your relationship a competition, which is a strange way to look at your partner?  But if all "cheat" means is "be sneaky," then I suppose it makes sense.

To kick this off into the more esoteric territory, in any given situation, particularly competitive situations, why *shouldn't* we cheat?  Swinging back around into the competitive advantage rationalization, why are we so caught up in being arbitrarily fair?  If I have a resource or an opportunity that could help me 'win,' then why not use it?  I tend not to, because it upsets people who aren't cheating, but where does it stop?  Getting a copy of a final exam ahead of time is "cheating," but studying harder than other people isn't?  in championship tennis, it's illegal to let your coach help you during a match, but totally okay to have better equipment than your opponent?
  It's becoming increasingly obvious to me that I have no real idea of where this is going in my head, but the broad strokes are there.