On Cheating

Source: Wikimedia Commons

"Cheating is a part of human nature"

This is something I heard on the radio this morning (BBC 5 Live, for those that care) and it got me thinking. This is certainly something I have heard before, so I thought I'd explore it briefly.

First off, I feel I should clarify that I mean cheating in the sense of taking questionable steps in the pursuit of success, not, as my quick google search revealed most people immediately think, the taking of another amorous partner at the same time as another who may object to such a union. That is a whole other kettle of fish.

The discussion on the radio was in regards to the Olympics, apparently a scant year away and obviously this is something where cheating is a big concern. Here we have athletes at peak physical condition, brutally murdering any remaining supposition that these games are meant to be performed by "amatures". You don't want to watch these people win a race and then find out they were artificially boosted. You would feel, well, cheated.

These are artificially boosted, and I feel cheated.

But it is clear to see why people do it. If you're, say, number 5 in the entire world, and you think that a small drug or another will give you the edge you need to reach that number 1 spot, all those moral questions you have been hearing through your athletic life might seem a little quieter in your head. The view of the top from below is a powerful motivator. And this is why I got thinking about the phrase in the first place. The reason an athlete would cheat is because they feel it will give them what they need to reach the top. A student will cheat academically in order to get good marks and subsequently (or so we have been lead to believe thus far) a good job and life. Or at least not to seem stupid. Your average roleplayer will be under constant internal pressure to fudge his or her dice rolls because they want their beloved character to succeed in their task, or at least not die.

So far we have seen the motivation of cheating to be athletic success, academic success, and critical success. There is a theme here. Let's carry it further. Gamblers: Financial success. Artists who plagiarise: Artistic or possibly Popularity success (i.e. being famous).

It is certainly possibly to achieve these aims without cheating. This requires hard work and determination. And so do we stumble upon another reason for cheating. Laziness. The student might not want high grades but they still don't want to fail. But studying is boring and difficult to get into, so it is much easier to write notes on his hand or ironically put much more effort into hiding a crib sheet on the label of a coke bottle than actually studying would have taken. Other examples are available but I am already pushing the limit on what can reasonably be considered "Brief discussion".

In conclusion, I have discussed a couple of motivations for cheating, but neither were cheating itself. Cheating for cheating's sake strikes me as being counter productive. If you have nothing to gain by cheating then you won't cheat. Thus do I disagree with the statement "Cheating is human nature". It isn't. The desire for success in one's endeavours, and tendency to follow the path or least resistance is, and these (among others, I'm sure) are what may lead to someone cheating.

I don't claim this to be a concrete answer. What do you think? Have I missed a glaringly obvious point to the contrary? Or am I a shining light or all that is right in the world? Thoughts in the comments.