Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen on Why Ultrarunning Is a Game, and Maybe the Meaning of Life

About this episode

C. Thi Nguyen discusses the philosophical aspects of ultrarunning and its implications on life and games.

C. Thi Nguyen is a philosopher at the University of Utah, a former food writer for the Los Angeles Times , a rock climber, and one of the world's leading thinkers on the philosophy of games. His new book, The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else's Game , argues that games are the defining art form of our era, and that the scoring systems that make them so joyful turn quietly destructive when institutions and apps wield them instead. In this conversation, Zoë and Brendan talk with CT about why ultrarunning is a game in the deepest philosophical sense, his concept of value capture and why it explains your relationship with Strava better than you'd like, what carbon plates and trekking poles reveal about game design, and why Bernard Suits, the philosopher who defined play as "voluntarily taking on unnecessary obstacles", thought games might literally be the meaning of life. Also: fly fishing pickup artists, the shot clock, elite yo-yoing, and Zoë's Smash Mouth Strava segment situation. This episode is brought to you by Running Warehouse, the best place to find shoes, kit, and gear from top brands, with honest reviews and filters that actually help. Our featured race is the Baker…

People in this episode

Hosts: Zoë, Brendan

Guest: C. Thi Nguyen

Topics covered

• philosophy of games
• ultrarunning
• value capture
• game design
• meaning of life

Keywords

• ultrarunning
• philosophy
• C. Thi Nguyen
• value capture
• game design
• Running Warehouse
• Baker Trail Ultra Challenge

Sponsors

Running Warehouse

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Utah, Los Angeles Times

Places: Cook Forest, North Country Trail, Western Pennsylvania

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