I was thinking of paradigms, and I realized, in Dodge-ball (at least the version I used to play) is a team sport where every man is for himself. Until you're in jail, then you depend entirely on the-limited-skills of your playground playmates.

To understand this, you have to understand my local version of dodge-ball. You dodge balls. If they bounce and connect, you aren't out. If you catch it, the thrower is out. If you are out, you go to jail. Once in jail, you stand in the back of a long row of jail-mates. There is one jail line for each of the two dodge-ball teams, playing on a rectangle painted in the pavement with a vertical line dividing it. If you step over the line you are out. Anyway, back to the jail lines. When one of your teammates catches a ball, the person first in line gets to go back into the game. Also, the number of dodge-balls in the game is limited to four. However, many late-comers bring their own balls, so the number often rises.

The point is, when you are on the field, you do not relie on your teammates at all. They are immature fifth-graders. They will not pass the ball to you. The only help you will get from them is diving behind them to evade an incoming red projectile.

Then, you are hit. Someone catches your thrown ball. After waiting in jail until you are next to be sprung, you can't stop yelling at every teammate that should of caught the ball. You scream, "I could have caught that!" Your nearby jailbirds, all equally anxious to be released, agree yelling phrases such as, "My Grandma could have got that!" "My third-grade sister could have got that!" "You couldn't hit a fly!" The fly comment never made sense to me. Do you realize how hard it is to hit a fly using a red ball larger than your head with only fifth grade strength and reflexes? I couldn't.

The point is, until your in trouble, in many situations, team mates are either unnecessary or unhelpful. The point of this post? Learn not to get in trouble, and don't depend on other people to help you out of a tricky situation unless necessary. Self-reliance is very necessary. Especially in cooperative online video games.