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Re: [CQ-Contest] Cheating

To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] Cheating
From: David Gilbert <xdavid@cis-broadband.com>
Date: Mon, 22 Aug 2016 00:43:12 -0700
List-post: <cq-contest@contesting.com">mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>

I'm not in favor of inspectors, mostly because I don't think they are at all practical. But the problem isn't going to go away ... it's human nature to cheat. Seriously --- there have been lots of studies on the the topic of cheating and what variables make people more likely to cheat under what circumstances and Radiosport happens to have a majority of those factors. Out of pure curiosity I once did some casual research on the subject and even (per his request) sent a summary to Randy, K5ZD when he was doing a rules review some time ago.

You can believe me or not, but I'm telling you that we're wired to cheat in competitive environments, or when something of perceived value (time, money, glory, gratification, etc) is at stake. I could give several everyday examples that would make almost all of us take pause. We simply are not inherently honest. Even our "morality" mostly boils down to learned and ingrained social pressures. Lots of hams seem to think that humans are fundamentally honest and that the urge to cheat is some sort of aberration. From an anthropological point of view, it's the other way around.

There may be a way to come up with a contest format without cheating, but it won't be because people didn't try.

73,
Dave   AB7E



On 8/21/2016 2:38 PM, Ron Notarius W3WN wrote:

Solve the real problem, and the need for inspectors ought to go away.

So how do you solve the real problem?

73, ron w3wn

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