ESPN had an interesting quiz to test sports fans, players, managers, umpires, and baseball executives on how well they know the rules of their own game: MLB. Not surprisingly many people scored less than fifty percent (I scored a three out of ten).
This test though was meant to show the need for rule changes in MLB and got me thinking about rules and how they affect us in general.
Think for a second about all the laws, all of the rules that we all follow every day. Traffic laws, workplace rules, house rules, and more fill our lives to give us some semblance of order. We create rules for ourselves to follow in an attempt to discipline or motivate ourselves (i.e. you can eat the cake if you exercise for an hour).
With all these rules though how do we ever get things done? How do we keep track of them all?
The answer: we don't and when we try people complain.
Traffic lights are things to beat and instant replay in sports has created controversy about the human element in officiating. Contracts are filled with so much fine print that no one really knows what they are signing.
People cry all the time for a simplification of the laws, a simplification of the tax code, immigration reform, health care. We have had credit card companies start advertising that they are "straight forward" with their rules instead of hiding them.
However I think what we forget about rules is that humans wrote them for a reason. We created them to deal with the gray area in our beliefs. Sure creating house rules are easy, until a teenager starts objecting to them with their own ideas of what is right and wrong.
So the next time you think a rule is stupid or that our own system of laws should be simpler, think of the gray area they are trying to address in a world full of differences.
IF you enjoyed this check out my latest articles
Why American Idol Lost it's Shine.
PED: Steroids or Lying.
This test though was meant to show the need for rule changes in MLB and got me thinking about rules and how they affect us in general.
Think for a second about all the laws, all of the rules that we all follow every day. Traffic laws, workplace rules, house rules, and more fill our lives to give us some semblance of order. We create rules for ourselves to follow in an attempt to discipline or motivate ourselves (i.e. you can eat the cake if you exercise for an hour).
With all these rules though how do we ever get things done? How do we keep track of them all?
The answer: we don't and when we try people complain.
Traffic lights are things to beat and instant replay in sports has created controversy about the human element in officiating. Contracts are filled with so much fine print that no one really knows what they are signing.
People cry all the time for a simplification of the laws, a simplification of the tax code, immigration reform, health care. We have had credit card companies start advertising that they are "straight forward" with their rules instead of hiding them.
However I think what we forget about rules is that humans wrote them for a reason. We created them to deal with the gray area in our beliefs. Sure creating house rules are easy, until a teenager starts objecting to them with their own ideas of what is right and wrong.
So the next time you think a rule is stupid or that our own system of laws should be simpler, think of the gray area they are trying to address in a world full of differences.
IF you enjoyed this check out my latest articles
Why American Idol Lost it's Shine.
PED: Steroids or Lying.
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