Opinion Boxing: Rock Paper Scissors, no shooting

by Alan Dent, reporter

A debate seems to be going on around school on the subject of Rock, Paper, Scissors. After a debate by Samuel Gilkes and Gabby Binder, it exploded into the school’s populace. When asked how the argument started, Gabby stated, “I guess we all just thought that our way was right, and theirs was wrong.”

I am here to end the dispute through the use of data! A survey was given to a small number of students to represent the school as a larger whole. What the survey revealed was that our test group of Jim Thorpe students overwhelmingly chose Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot, over Rock, Paper, Scissors, says shoot. The same correlation can be found in a similar study done in 2012, shown below. This answer makes sense. Rock Paper Scissors is supposed to be a fast paced game that is played in quick succession. Adding extra words causes the game to slow down drastically and leave room for predictions. The game should be fast in order to influence a random reaction, any longer and the opponents would instead try to get in the other’s head and pay attention to their habits. I believe that the game should be played based on pure luck, because what better way is there to solve a dispute?

A contest is a great way to solve a small dispute, but what happens when you have to factor skill into it? A perfectly equal challenge can never be found if skill is involved because one participant will most likely be more skilled than the other. That is why I say, turn to luck. Flipping coins and guessing a number, that is what gives no advantage. The same should be with Rock Paper Scissors. It should be used as a fast paced game to solve disputes fairly. That’s why I say, keep the game phrases as short as possible, and let chance take over, it’s bound to cause less arguments.

by Sam Gilkes, reporter

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few days, chances are that someone asked you a simple question: “When you play ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors,’ do you end it with ‘says shoot’ or just ‘shoot’?” It’s shocking how a question like that could divide a school, it being a child’s game and all, but we teenagers are hot-blooded individuals, just itching for a way to prove to others (and ourselves) how much more right/smart we are. If that means arguing about a simple game used to resolve small issues, so be it.

With that in mind, if you are playing “Rock, Paper, Scissors” to settle a small dispute, you probably aren’t in a rush for time. So why speed through it? The addition of “says” slows it down, and gets the players in sync for their final draw. Nathan Fields states, “When you say ‘says,’ it gets you ready. It builds suspense.”

You might be asking, what do I say? Well, as a guy who lives “up the mountain” and attended the Penn Kidder campus, there’s a larger chance that I would say “says.” What! Different? That’s insanity! Wrong. But there is no right or wrong way to play the game. If you play with a person who doesn’t say it, you won’t. If there person does say it, you will. If you’re playing with an older person, you might even say “one, two, three!”

The point that I am trying to make, is that no matter what you would rather say, it doesn’t matter because it doesn’t change the point of the game; choosing the victor of small arguments. You probably decide on what to say due to your upbringing and where you lived as a child. I, for example, moved here from New York, but a person who moved here from another state, or even country may say something different. I am just a product of my environment. That being said, I will continue to say “says” because those who don’t are weirdos.

rock paper scissors test

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