I need a Motherlode right now: Why are Sims only similar to real life in useless things?

Every time I see a Sim not do absolutely anything I asked it to, it makes me think about my to-do lists and how I constantly ignore them. Honestly, same.

You tell them to cook dinner, and suddenly, they are standing in front of the fridge for fifteen minutes; they choose to take a nap first, and then have dessert. Once you have finished building them the perfect house, giving them the perfect job, and the perfect partner, they still manage to set the kitchen on fire. It just makes me think how they’re not that different from us after all.

It’s like we were Sims but with a rather more vast set of presets for our personalities. But really, are types of personalities infinite? I mean, I guess in all human history, two personalities have to have been at least really, really similar, the only difference being their memories. Or is that an impossible thought?  

It’s like the library of Babel but for personalities. If only we could find a way to create a library of every personality trait combination possible. Maybe AI can do it one day, guys… I’m just saying.

It is all very funny until you think: how different are we from Sims, really? We all operate from a set of defaults we rarely question, and when we do, they are super hard to change. A very small change in our routines can make us cranky. We have needs we have to fulfill every few hours, and sometimes we dislike someone for no reason.

I suppose we’ve all wondered at some point whether there is a huge computer player in the sky telling us to do stuff, and maybe there is. I’m not closed to the idea. We like to imagine ourselves as rational beings that make deliberate choices. But how many of our choices are controlled by impulses we don’t really handle consciously? Some don’t even come from us, and they come from society. It’s actually crazy if you think about it.

I think you can know a lot about a person by watching how they play The Sims. Do they use every minute to build the most perfectly designed house, and then they get bored? Do they concentrate all their energy on optimizing every aspect of the Sim’s life? Do they build pools and then remove the ladders?

I suggest your next date plan is to invite your crush to play The Sims and see what they do.

Maybe it’s time to reflect on our ridiculousness by watching tiny animations of humans being ridiculous and not doing what they’re supposed to do. Or it’s just time to build ridiculous houses with colourful furniture and date someone from the Goth family.

And if you are the giant computer player living in the sky reading this, please create a Motherlode trick for humans because all this working and saving thing is not cutting it.