So I was sitting in my philosophy class at Reston today, thinking about fantasy football as I usually do. Only this time my I was actually thinking about fantasy football in relation to the topic of the class that day, the philosophy of making choices. We read an article by psychologist Barry Schwartz called the “The Tyranny of Choice,” in which he presents research showing that “increased choice and increased affluence have...been accompanied by decreased well-being in the U.S. and most other affluent societies.” His basic hypothesis is that some choice is better than none but too much choice can decrease happiness.
This struck me as the answer that I’ve been looking for
to the question of: why does fantasy football always leave me with an empty, unfulfilled feeling in my stomach? And no, the answer is not because I never win. I’ve won multiple leagues in the past and have a successful track recorded. Schwartz’s article made me realize, fantasy football is a game of choice. It’s not a game of choice and chance the way Yahtzee is because there is certainly some skill and knowledge required to successfully predict the performance of players. But fantasy football is also not like real sports in which you not only have to make decisions, (do I pass the basketball or shoot it?) but you have properly execute the play.
Fantasy football is fundamentally about making choices. From the beginning, you have to decide on a draft strategy (should I take a pair of top RBs in the first to rounds or a stud WR and QB?). During every round of the draft you are comparing players and have to decide between a few players which you’ll pick (do I take Reggie Williams or Reggie Brown in the 8th round?). Once the season has started, your job as manager is to pick which players on your roster to start and which to bench each week. In a tricked out league like the cash league I play in, the decisions that must be made are endless. How many points should I wager to pick up so-and-so off the waiver wire? Which players that I drafted after the 7th round should I keep on my team for next year? Hell, we even have a draft to pick which draft position each owner will pick their team from!
According to Schwartz, all of these choices do not make for a happy group of 10-12 nerdy football-crazed guys. Schwartz says that each choice we make carries with it opportunity cost, the potential for regret, and a phenomenon called adaptation (enthusiasm about positive experiences does not sustain itself). In fantasy football terms he means: “Fuck, I took Marshawn Lynch in the 2nd round and now I’m not going to get an elite receiver.” “Fuck, I can’t believe I took Steven Jackson in the first round.” “Fuck, my team is good but not as good as it should be after I spent two months researching to draft this team!” No matter how successful you are, you’re going to make incorrect decisions every week that are disappointing. For instance, my friend’s team was the highest scoring team in the league in week one, but he didn’t start Michael Turner, the highest scoring fantasy performer of week one. The key point of Schwartz’s theory is that the bad feelings from wrong choices outweigh and outlast the good feelings of correct choices. More choices to make, more times you want to punch yourself in the face.
So why do we play? Well, because fantasy football is really fun. The thrill of pretending that you’re a GM for an NFL team is fun. And making choices that are correct (all of you who drafted Eddie Royal) is really fun. Playing fantasy football enhances my experience as a fan and I am not going to stop playing. But if you’re like me, and sometimes wonder where that disappointed/frustrated feeling is coming from during fantasy football season, well, now you know.
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Psyche of Fantasy Football
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Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Am I A Fantasy Football Legend? Maybe...
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The NFL regular season is finally upon us. Rejoice! Sing for the heavens! Turdurkens for everyone! (Note: the pic is the first google image search result for "fantasy football")
In addition to all of this, it's a time for betting and of fantasy football. And I am amazing when it comes to that. Don't believe me? Read on.
Well, obviously SoBDD and myself are avid fantasy football fans. We're in two leagues together. My record in those 2 leagues? 2-0. His? 0-2. Conincidence? Probably. Hilarious? Undoubtedly.
Taking a look at the rosters of my three major teams, I just want to point out that I was smart enough to start Chris Johnson, smart enough to draft Eddie Royal in a spot where he is worth a 14th round pick next year, and dumb enough to sit both he and Michael Turner this week. All in all, I'm 4-0 as an owner. Not too shabby at all.
In addition to my fantasy football prowess thus far, I've also shown some ability as a bettor. SoBDD dragged me into a competition over at one of his favorite blogs (VEGASWATCH.NET) where you have to take the over/under on the Vegas line for wins for an NFL team from each division. You can navigate around vegaswatch for my picks (or just spend some time reading as it's a fantastic blog). You'll also notice at the bottom of the linked article that the individual in first place is... YA BOI, DOCTOR DOZER! This may not last, so celebrations are definitely in order. See you never.
Signed,
The Doctor
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Weekly Draft 3: Classes Every Student at Reston Should Take
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Because our first category was "Superheroes we'd like to see star in their own movie", and we figured that wasn't nerdy enough, we decided to follow it up with "Classes at Reston every student should take." As upperclassmen as Reston University (Motto: "Sede En Me Vulta") we figured it was our duty to tell the freshmen and the ill-prepared about some of the great classes that await them at our fine institution of higher learning. And so the third contributor draft begins... now.
Well, not quite now, persay, because first, a moment of clarification. Because theShow and Torshin, for all their wonderful qualities, do not attend Reston, we're going to be a bit short-handed. Order is SoBDD, Doctor Dozer, blogsquatch, JuicyJuice. Four men, two rounds, eight picks. Andnowwestart.
Sons of Big Daddy Drew: Introduction to the Law.
Cliche? Sue me. Or better yet, take this class, then sue me. Taught by Reston legend Houston Taras, Social Org covers nearly every important Supreme Court case of the last 100 years. This class gives prospective Poli Sci and Pre-Law majors a solid foundation in understanding the law, its interpretation, and its failures. The reading load is heavy, and Taras is a master at exposing your ignorance on that one day you didn't do it, but ithe knowledge gained makes it well worth it. From the fittingly-named Loving v. Virginia to the strange case of Riss v. City of New York to poor, poor Ceballos, these are some of the most interesting, enlightening, and relevant cases that've ever sat on the SCOTUS docket.
Doctor Dozer: Introduction to Geology.
I'll admit my skepticism when first signing up for the course at the recommendation of my hippie-scum adviser, but I actually enjoyed the hell out of it. Let's face it: we all need to pad our GPAs every once in a while, so why not get a few outdoor field trips and a little bit of knowledge out of it? And if you're afraid of actual science, why not take a fake one? Over the course of a semester, I did in fact learn a bit, and I never studied, let alone opened a book. I had a box of rocks (really minerals) in my room, and the girls always love that. And at the end of the day, your professor is guaranteed to be a fun-to-talk-to grass-smoking granola who doesn't have the heart to give you less than an A-. Dinosaurs. Oil. Hawaii. Yup, all the cool things, kids.
SOBDD-I've heard of Rocks for Jocks, but now they've got Rocks for Kids Who Suck Cocks? What's next? Rock for Box? (Dozer's motha) Rocks for Fox? (Bloqsquatch's motha) Rocks for people who like to trade stocks? (Gary) Rocks for lovers of smallpox? (Jeff)
Blogsquatch: Vampires.
Yes such a class does exist at Reston. When first finding out about it, I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of learning, reading, watching, and writing about vampires for an entire semester. Surely such a class would attract the most interesting group of people. You know the type: dark shades of eye-liner, long straight jet-black hair, crooked and off-centered designs on t-shirt that look like they belong in the artwork for a Rob Zombie album/movie instead of on people's...well not really chest, more like shoulder-back-side-pectoral area. Very Docter Dozer-ish. But to tell you the truth, the class actually....was everything I expected, but not really. Not too many crazy-clothes wearing fellers in the class, but you definitely get a different feel for the good-ol' vampire. You almost learn to love the poor misunderstood, creature of the night. Where else can you be assigned to watch a variety films where you have elements including but not limited to action, plenty of exaggerated and hilariously funny gore, Salma Hayek dancing 85% naked before she turns into a horrifying creature that actually reminds me of one of my english teachers from back in the day (of course you wouldn't know them), or even cartoon vampires from Cuba who are incredibly thristy for blood and unsatisfyingly horny as well (does that even make sense, Doctor Dozer knows more about that than any of us do so we'll ask him later about that). Anyway, the professor may strike students as a bit free-spirited and chique, and he is defintely a cool guy, but he certainly adds an extra value to a class that already is very much under-rated and over-looked by much of the student body.
SOBDD-The vampires weren't the only thing in that class that sucked! Hoo Boy! Burned! Oh yeaaaaaah! Gotcha blogsquatch!
JuicyJuice: Biological Psychology.
This class is definitely the closest I will ever come to taking a real science course (a step above Geo, which I also took). I was considering being a psych major at the time but I also took this class because I was genuinely interested. Bio-psych is a great course for anyone who has ever wondered how the brain works and why the human body does some of the things it does. Each week you cover a new topic including topics such as how the brain controls eating, drinking, sleeping, sex, memory, and language and basic sensory and motor functions. Pretty cool stuff, not to mention you sound really smart when you can talk about things like how a ligand-gated ion channel works and what the hypothalamus does (I would list more things but I have obviously forgotten most of the cool and useless information that I learned). Despite totally misrepresenting himself in a picture on the "psych professor wall”, Professor Beard was a cool nerd that was sometimes funny and usually interesting to listen to. The class does live up to its slightly intimidating name though as almost every paper and test is a bitch. But I think most students’ GPA survive this class just fine. I enjoyed this class so much that I considered taking a neuroscience class and I signed up for Psycho-Pharmacology, which I promptly dropped after realizing that I remembered none of the little chemistry that is required.
JuicyJuice: World Politics (That's the 4th thing to come up when you google image search world politics, I swear.
If there is one political science class to take at Reston, this is it. I say that because this is the only intro course that provides students with a basic understanding of the important ideas in political philosophy and of today’s important political issues. Topics include – the dynamics of great power politics, the changing role of state sovereignty, international civil society, international legal institutions, and the United States’ relationship with the EU, China, India, Russia, the Middle East, and Latin America. The most valuable part of this course for me was that its emphasis on geopolitics forced me to learn geography. I am very grateful that I now know that the difference between the Balkans and the Baltic states and that I can now name and locate more than one country in Africa on a map. Professor Mancala doesn’t even attempt to hide his radically liberal views on every topic but it honestly doesn’t detract from the course because the readings are a fair representation of the spectrum of political views. I can also guarantee that over the course of the twelve week semester, Mancala absolutely will not learn your name. Despite his flaws, Mancala and his accent are funny to listen to and he shows some cool clips that waste class time.
Blogsquatch: India in Film
What you get from this course will more than likely serve you no purpose after you graduate. Many consider it to be a joke class, and a g.p.a. booster. Yes, it proves to be a relatively simple course that you can take to help boost your grades, but its actually an incredibly entertaining and fun course. The movies, all Bollywood films, are incredibly awkward and different at first, but after giving it a chance, the common storylines, spontaneous dance routines, and the catchy music will eventually grow on you, and you'll end up enjoying class far more than you ever thought you would.
Doctor Dozer: Writing Poetry
With his second pick, you might think Doctor Dozer would pick a biology related course, or maybe organic chemistry, given his affinity for the body and doing doctoral things to it. However, you'd be wrong. The Doctor chooses Writing Poetry. Taking a creative writing course should be important to everyone. Never again in your life will complete strangers be forced to listen to your ideas and smile politely, so you might as well take advantage. With poetry in particular, though, not only are you expressing yourself creatively, you're also finding things out about yourself that you never knew before. Once you finish your first 4 poems about how light and fluffy the world is or how that bird is singing outside your window on a Sunday morning after brunch with white pants and linen shirts, using your little rhyme schemes and meter and witticisms, there's nothing left to do but dig inside yourself and see what's really there. You simply have nothing else to write about. The ideas that pop into your head when you're struggling for a topic are mostly frightening, but don't shy away from them. That's who you are deep down. Learn to embrace it, express it, and shock people with your honesty. No other class gives you the opportunity to "Fight Off Your Demons" like Writing Poetry. Be careful, thought, because you might just find out who you are and where you came from.
Sons of Big Daddy Drew: Introduction to Economics
Want to understand the relationship between supply and demand? Want to know why the Fed raises interest rates? Want to know what the Fed is? Want to know what interest rates are? Want to know why the summer gas tax holiday (endorsed by Hillary Clinton and John McCain) is a pointless idea? Want to know why this is such a stupid facebook group? Want to learn about Supply-Side Economics, Reaganomics, the Trickle-Down Effect, and VooDoo Economics? Want to know what William Jennings Bryant's "Cross of Gold" speech, widely considered one of the greatest orations in American history, was actually saying? Want to know, once and for certain, that Ron Paul is a crazy person? Want to know what that weird dude Russell Crowe played in "A Beautiful Mind" was all about? Want to know why your father got laid off from work? Take Introduction to Economics. (Oh, and your father got laid off because he's a lazy, drug-addled man-child who hasn't worked a productive day in his life.)
What are your own recommendations for classes, either at Reston or elsewhere? Great topics, great professors, great pictures? Yours in the comments...
Read More......
Well, not quite now, persay, because first, a moment of clarification. Because theShow and Torshin, for all their wonderful qualities, do not attend Reston, we're going to be a bit short-handed. Order is SoBDD, Doctor Dozer, blogsquatch, JuicyJuice. Four men, two rounds, eight picks. Andnowwestart.
Sons of Big Daddy Drew: Introduction to the Law.
Cliche? Sue me. Or better yet, take this class, then sue me. Taught by Reston legend Houston Taras, Social Org covers nearly every important Supreme Court case of the last 100 years. This class gives prospective Poli Sci and Pre-Law majors a solid foundation in understanding the law, its interpretation, and its failures. The reading load is heavy, and Taras is a master at exposing your ignorance on that one day you didn't do it, but ithe knowledge gained makes it well worth it. From the fittingly-named Loving v. Virginia to the strange case of Riss v. City of New York to poor, poor Ceballos, these are some of the most interesting, enlightening, and relevant cases that've ever sat on the SCOTUS docket.
Doctor Dozer: Introduction to Geology.
I'll admit my skepticism when first signing up for the course at the recommendation of my hippie-scum adviser, but I actually enjoyed the hell out of it. Let's face it: we all need to pad our GPAs every once in a while, so why not get a few outdoor field trips and a little bit of knowledge out of it? And if you're afraid of actual science, why not take a fake one? Over the course of a semester, I did in fact learn a bit, and I never studied, let alone opened a book. I had a box of rocks (really minerals) in my room, and the girls always love that. And at the end of the day, your professor is guaranteed to be a fun-to-talk-to grass-smoking granola who doesn't have the heart to give you less than an A-. Dinosaurs. Oil. Hawaii. Yup, all the cool things, kids.SOBDD-I've heard of Rocks for Jocks, but now they've got Rocks for Kids Who Suck Cocks? What's next? Rock for Box? (Dozer's motha) Rocks for Fox? (Bloqsquatch's motha) Rocks for people who like to trade stocks? (Gary) Rocks for lovers of smallpox? (Jeff)
Blogsquatch: Vampires.
Yes such a class does exist at Reston. When first finding out about it, I couldn't help but laugh at the thought of learning, reading, watching, and writing about vampires for an entire semester. Surely such a class would attract the most interesting group of people. You know the type: dark shades of eye-liner, long straight jet-black hair, crooked and off-centered designs on t-shirt that look like they belong in the artwork for a Rob Zombie album/movie instead of on people's...well not really chest, more like shoulder-back-side-pectoral area. Very Docter Dozer-ish. But to tell you the truth, the class actually....was everything I expected, but not really. Not too many crazy-clothes wearing fellers in the class, but you definitely get a different feel for the good-ol' vampire. You almost learn to love the poor misunderstood, creature of the night. Where else can you be assigned to watch a variety films where you have elements including but not limited to action, plenty of exaggerated and hilariously funny gore, Salma Hayek dancing 85% naked before she turns into a horrifying creature that actually reminds me of one of my english teachers from back in the day (of course you wouldn't know them), or even cartoon vampires from Cuba who are incredibly thristy for blood and unsatisfyingly horny as well (does that even make sense, Doctor Dozer knows more about that than any of us do so we'll ask him later about that). Anyway, the professor may strike students as a bit free-spirited and chique, and he is defintely a cool guy, but he certainly adds an extra value to a class that already is very much under-rated and over-looked by much of the student body.SOBDD-The vampires weren't the only thing in that class that sucked! Hoo Boy! Burned! Oh yeaaaaaah! Gotcha blogsquatch!
JuicyJuice: Biological Psychology.
This class is definitely the closest I will ever come to taking a real science course (a step above Geo, which I also took). I was considering being a psych major at the time but I also took this class because I was genuinely interested. Bio-psych is a great course for anyone who has ever wondered how the brain works and why the human body does some of the things it does. Each week you cover a new topic including topics such as how the brain controls eating, drinking, sleeping, sex, memory, and language and basic sensory and motor functions. Pretty cool stuff, not to mention you sound really smart when you can talk about things like how a ligand-gated ion channel works and what the hypothalamus does (I would list more things but I have obviously forgotten most of the cool and useless information that I learned). Despite totally misrepresenting himself in a picture on the "psych professor wall”, Professor Beard was a cool nerd that was sometimes funny and usually interesting to listen to. The class does live up to its slightly intimidating name though as almost every paper and test is a bitch. But I think most students’ GPA survive this class just fine. I enjoyed this class so much that I considered taking a neuroscience class and I signed up for Psycho-Pharmacology, which I promptly dropped after realizing that I remembered none of the little chemistry that is required.JuicyJuice: World Politics (That's the 4th thing to come up when you google image search world politics, I swear.
If there is one political science class to take at Reston, this is it. I say that because this is the only intro course that provides students with a basic understanding of the important ideas in political philosophy and of today’s important political issues. Topics include – the dynamics of great power politics, the changing role of state sovereignty, international civil society, international legal institutions, and the United States’ relationship with the EU, China, India, Russia, the Middle East, and Latin America. The most valuable part of this course for me was that its emphasis on geopolitics forced me to learn geography. I am very grateful that I now know that the difference between the Balkans and the Baltic states and that I can now name and locate more than one country in Africa on a map. Professor Mancala doesn’t even attempt to hide his radically liberal views on every topic but it honestly doesn’t detract from the course because the readings are a fair representation of the spectrum of political views. I can also guarantee that over the course of the twelve week semester, Mancala absolutely will not learn your name. Despite his flaws, Mancala and his accent are funny to listen to and he shows some cool clips that waste class time.Blogsquatch: India in Film
What you get from this course will more than likely serve you no purpose after you graduate. Many consider it to be a joke class, and a g.p.a. booster. Yes, it proves to be a relatively simple course that you can take to help boost your grades, but its actually an incredibly entertaining and fun course. The movies, all Bollywood films, are incredibly awkward and different at first, but after giving it a chance, the common storylines, spontaneous dance routines, and the catchy music will eventually grow on you, and you'll end up enjoying class far more than you ever thought you would.
Doctor Dozer: Writing Poetry
With his second pick, you might think Doctor Dozer would pick a biology related course, or maybe organic chemistry, given his affinity for the body and doing doctoral things to it. However, you'd be wrong. The Doctor chooses Writing Poetry. Taking a creative writing course should be important to everyone. Never again in your life will complete strangers be forced to listen to your ideas and smile politely, so you might as well take advantage. With poetry in particular, though, not only are you expressing yourself creatively, you're also finding things out about yourself that you never knew before. Once you finish your first 4 poems about how light and fluffy the world is or how that bird is singing outside your window on a Sunday morning after brunch with white pants and linen shirts, using your little rhyme schemes and meter and witticisms, there's nothing left to do but dig inside yourself and see what's really there. You simply have nothing else to write about. The ideas that pop into your head when you're struggling for a topic are mostly frightening, but don't shy away from them. That's who you are deep down. Learn to embrace it, express it, and shock people with your honesty. No other class gives you the opportunity to "Fight Off Your Demons" like Writing Poetry. Be careful, thought, because you might just find out who you are and where you came from.
Sons of Big Daddy Drew: Introduction to Economics
Want to understand the relationship between supply and demand? Want to know why the Fed raises interest rates? Want to know what the Fed is? Want to know what interest rates are? Want to know why the summer gas tax holiday (endorsed by Hillary Clinton and John McCain) is a pointless idea? Want to know why this is such a stupid facebook group? Want to learn about Supply-Side Economics, Reaganomics, the Trickle-Down Effect, and VooDoo Economics? Want to know what William Jennings Bryant's "Cross of Gold" speech, widely considered one of the greatest orations in American history, was actually saying? Want to know, once and for certain, that Ron Paul is a crazy person? Want to know what that weird dude Russell Crowe played in "A Beautiful Mind" was all about? Want to know why your father got laid off from work? Take Introduction to Economics. (Oh, and your father got laid off because he's a lazy, drug-addled man-child who hasn't worked a productive day in his life.)What are your own recommendations for classes, either at Reston or elsewhere? Great topics, great professors, great pictures? Yours in the comments...
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