"He becomes a pauper, and pauperism increases more rapidly than population and wealth." - Karl Marx
This aphorism has been my signature of choice for my Pauper Magic forum posting needs. It served as one of many quotes that I have gathered in my readings that eventually lead me to an interest in what I believe to be the foundation of all human thought and action: Philosophy.
Yeah, I'm one of those guys. One who has a lot of time on his hands and lot of annoying questions on his mind that he just has to ask you. And then ask you why you answered it that way. All while appearing lazy for doing nothing but thinking all day. Makes you wanna make me take a Sip of Hemlock, doesn't it?
If you know what (or who) the flavor of this card is alluding to and you are a Magic player, then you'll probably be the type that digs both philosophy and stereo-typically "nerdy" artwork. Like posters of dragons and the painting of miniatures or...comic books. Like this one:
My introduction to philosophy would have been much weaker and less enjoyable were it not for these delightfully insightful little books. Each title in the series of nearly 100 is pocket-sized and incredibly affordable at ten bucks new (with tons of used copies from previous editions available for even less).
I've acquired nearly twenty copies now after first picking up Marxism: A Graphic Guide about two years ago, thinking it was a one-off joke. I was pleased to find the same engaging format employed in this book was uniform for a wide of titles on nearly every major philosophy and philosopher you think you can think of, with some science and literature thrown in:
To boot, the series is not a new phenomenon. It has an interesting history dating all the way back the 1960s and 1970s when an independent Mexican cartoonist called Rius penned a comic book, graphic-novel style, on Karl Marx. It was later taken up by a somewhat left-leaning British publishing cooperative, which continued producing new titles throughout the 1980s. Then, in the 1990s, something happened that never, ever happens to lefty organizations...
...they split :-)
Now two publishing houses would develop the "For Beginners" series, as it was called back then, one in the States and one in Britain (the irony being that the perspective of the series is decidedly Continental). But we get a happy ending: The two later rejoined forces early this millennium and shrank the size of the books with slick new covers to produce the pocket-sized book pictured above.
Since both companies kept producing new books in the interim, sometimes issues on the same subject would see print on both sides of the Atlantic with different authors and illustrators. It may have seemed confusing, redundant, and counter-productive at the time, but a positive side-effect is the great treasure hunt awaiting those who become fans of the series as we seek out previous editions from either publisher. Indeed, now that I play mainly MTGO, these books have entirely replaced physical Magic cards as my collectible commodities of choice.
Each new title I add to my collection has been a visual and cognitive romp of challenging ideas made more vivid by equally daring illustrations. My favorite in the series so far has to be the out-of-print Kafka for Beginners, illustrated by none other than underground comic book legend, R. Crumb. But despite my admiration for him, I've discovered other great illustrators, my favorite being Piero for his high energy, dreamlike brush strokes.
True to their roots, most titles are printed in Spanish and English and always remind the reader of the importance of Marx.
I highly encourage you to check out this series. At least one is bound to appeal to you if Magic has already captured your attention and brought you this far. Is the artwork or the color pie you like most? Pick up Aesthetics. Is it the strategy you enjoy? Try Logic. Working on that mana base? Statistics. Want to build the MTGO equivalent of Jeopardy's Watson? Artificial Intelligence is also available.
I've already found fascinating applications that philosophy can have for Magic: the Gathering. And isn't any discussion of a metagame really a dialogue on metaphysics? I'd say the two hobbies are complimentary, and both suffer from a stigma that is easily proved wrong: that they cannot be made into a profession. But that's a discussion for another day...
In summary, when we play Magic: the Gathering and when we build our decks and even when we write articles about it, we are at the same time philosophizing. Following this, it’s as good a time as ever to introduce (or re-introduce) ourselves to philosophy. These books are the most entertaining way I've found do so. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Happy thinking! Peace,
- C
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