(10-12-2022, 08:37 AM)martyup Wrote: In my lifetime, I've personally encountered cheating in numerous competitions, especially when judging is subjective, and other endeavors. Included in this list is rodeo, wrestling (folk and freestyle), dance marathon, costume contests, Monopoly board games, school exams, speeding, employee timecards, card games, theft, litigation (judges and lawyers), and many others I've allowed my mind to forget.
IMO, cheating is instinctual in human beings. Breaking rules to gain advantage is highly seductive. Most of us are only dissuaded from cheating by the risk of being caught and the consequences that follow. Some, very few IMO, have a personal moral code that allows them to resist the temptation to cheat. Many others are guided by religion, which almost universally proscribes cheating.
The less risk averse a person is, the more likely they will break rules. Our prisons are full of persons with little or no risk aversion.
I had a high school football coach who repeatedly stated "It ain't cheating if you don't get caught." Sound advice for 16 year olds. Said coach had a long career in both the San Jose Unified and Santa Clara Unified School Districts. He was a principal at multiple schools. His last name was very similar to a Star Wars villain, which is how he became known among the teachers and staff at those schools.
Audaces fortuna iuvat