Go. Baduk. Whatever.
Posting that previous meme really triggered some memories. One in particular came to me when I was answering the question about boardgames.
I happen to enjoy playing baduk. I'm not great at it now, but when I was younger, it's all my dad and I used to do. (For those of you who don't know, Baduk or Go is an Asian game which originated in China several thousand years ago, and has since grown in popularity around the world, Japan and Korea in particular. It's played on a simple grid with white and black pieces, and is based on the strategies of war and battle. If this is sounding like an Asian version of chess to you, then great. That's essentially what it is.) I remember the first time we played together. That evening, mom needed some things from the Korean market, so the three of us hopped into the car to make an evening outing of it. While mom was looking for her bag of dried seaweeds, dad took me around the store to browse through their random inventory. High up on one of the shelves, he spotted a Baduk set. Immediately, he took it down, and then asked me if I wanted to learn how to play. Taking my mumbled, "Sureiguessso" as an affirmative, he popped the set into the cart and promptly started off on a two hour lecture on the origins, merits, and strategies of a game called Baduk.
When my eyes came back into focus and the buzzing sound in my head diminished, we were home, mom had long since started dinner, and my dad was setting up the board (normally, there wouldn't be any setting up since Baduk starts with an empty board, but he wanted to start me off with a 25 piece lead). At the end of that first game, I lost by nearly 300 pieces, but I digress.
The point of this long and drawn out anecdote is really just for me to say that I've played the game, and I know just a little something about it. Why's that important? Well one day, I was sitting in Latin, waiting for class to begin. The movie A Beautiful Mind had just been released, and the few people who were around me were talking about it. Then one of them mentioned the game John Nash had played. Baduk. I hadn't seen the movie, so I was looking for an angle in their conversation that I knew something about, and this was it. I enthusiastically joined in, talking about how great it is, how complex, and how popular it has been since many many years ago. Imagine my surprise when one V.K--yan turns to me to inform me in a very condescending voice that I am full of crap and why.
So here's my public service announcement of the month.
Fellow LJ-ers,
Did you know that the ancient game of Baduk/Go is not, in fact, ancient? Did you know that it's not even of Chinese origin? Well if you didn't, then you should be ashamed. Baduk was actually invented just fifty years ago by one John Nash, as is clearly shown in the 2001 blockbuster of a man and his schizophrenia. Well I feel like a perfect idiot. I mean, really, it's just so obvious.
I happen to enjoy playing baduk. I'm not great at it now, but when I was younger, it's all my dad and I used to do. (For those of you who don't know, Baduk or Go is an Asian game which originated in China several thousand years ago, and has since grown in popularity around the world, Japan and Korea in particular. It's played on a simple grid with white and black pieces, and is based on the strategies of war and battle. If this is sounding like an Asian version of chess to you, then great. That's essentially what it is.) I remember the first time we played together. That evening, mom needed some things from the Korean market, so the three of us hopped into the car to make an evening outing of it. While mom was looking for her bag of dried seaweeds, dad took me around the store to browse through their random inventory. High up on one of the shelves, he spotted a Baduk set. Immediately, he took it down, and then asked me if I wanted to learn how to play. Taking my mumbled, "Sureiguessso" as an affirmative, he popped the set into the cart and promptly started off on a two hour lecture on the origins, merits, and strategies of a game called Baduk.
When my eyes came back into focus and the buzzing sound in my head diminished, we were home, mom had long since started dinner, and my dad was setting up the board (normally, there wouldn't be any setting up since Baduk starts with an empty board, but he wanted to start me off with a 25 piece lead). At the end of that first game, I lost by nearly 300 pieces, but I digress.
The point of this long and drawn out anecdote is really just for me to say that I've played the game, and I know just a little something about it. Why's that important? Well one day, I was sitting in Latin, waiting for class to begin. The movie A Beautiful Mind had just been released, and the few people who were around me were talking about it. Then one of them mentioned the game John Nash had played. Baduk. I hadn't seen the movie, so I was looking for an angle in their conversation that I knew something about, and this was it. I enthusiastically joined in, talking about how great it is, how complex, and how popular it has been since many many years ago. Imagine my surprise when one V.K--yan turns to me to inform me in a very condescending voice that I am full of crap and why.
So here's my public service announcement of the month.
Fellow LJ-ers,
Did you know that the ancient game of Baduk/Go is not, in fact, ancient? Did you know that it's not even of Chinese origin? Well if you didn't, then you should be ashamed. Baduk was actually invented just fifty years ago by one John Nash, as is clearly shown in the 2001 blockbuster of a man and his schizophrenia. Well I feel like a perfect idiot. I mean, really, it's just so obvious.