Challenge Necessitates Rules

All challenges take place in some sort of defined context, setting the conditions under which the challenge is presented. Sometimes that context is financial, in which case a contract specifies the conditions. Sometimes the challenge takes the form of a job; a great variety of factors specify what is and is not permitted, expected, and required. Some challenges are physical in nature, in which case the laws of physics define the nature of the challenge.

Most challenges are at heart voluntary efforts on our part. We don't sign a contract unless we believe ourselves able to meet its conditions. We don't accept a job offer unless we accept the challenges it offers us. And of course, all sports, in which we accept a physical challenge, are voluntary.

The conditions under which a challenge is presented are its rules. Some rules are imposed upon the player by forces outside his control. The water skier cannot change the nature of water, nor can the rock climber defy gravity. Other rules are administrative in nature, such as the rules that organize the pyramid of games in a tournament. But the important rules are those that define the nature of the challenge and that make it a truly interesting challenge.

For example, mountain climbing would be so much easier with a helicopter—but that would remove all the challenge. Plenty of other technological aids could assist the mountain climber, but most climbers have a set of self-imposed rules that limit their utilization of such aids. After all, the point of mountain climbing is not to get to the top of the mountain, but rather to challenge oneself.