When Did This Happen?

My son and I like to play Guitar Hero together, though he kicks my butt, of course.  To show him that I was cool and "knew stuff," I showed him this YouTube posted by Megan McCardle showing a guy scoring 100% on "Through the Fire and Flames" on expert.  (If you don't know what this means, just trust me that Neo from the Matrix loaded with amphetamines in full bullet-dodging twitch reflex mode would struggle with completing this level of the game).

About 5 seconds in, my son says "It's a bot.  He's faking."  And then he walked away.

"Huh? Really?"  I stared at it for a while, and realized that he was very probably correct.  So when did I become more credulous than my teenager?

6 Comments

  1. David:

    I'm confused about this one, it doesn't seem obvious to me that it's a bot. Is it just because we don't get to see his fingers? Are there any particular moments that just stand out? I'm pretty sure that it's not technically impossible, since it's a real song, so someone can do that with a real guitar, anyway.

    I'm guessing, though, that it's not so much that you're more credulous as that you're credulous about different subjects - and after all, believing that someone can be that good at a video game doesn't damage you much!

  2. ErikTheRed:

    Actually, some people have been modding their guitars to automatically send the correct note sequences so they can get 100% on expert. This is pretty silly ... I mean, if your game is playing with itself then is it technically masturbation?

  3. jb:

    While it is theoretically possible that he's using a bot, this was posted on youtube by IamChris4Life, who has an actual NYTimes article about his GH playing ability:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/arts/television/10itzk.html

    Given the lax editorial standards at the NYT, this does not make this particular story bulletproof, but the article indicates that he's done this multiple times, and got 97% in front of an audience. Which suggests that it is certainly possible that every so often, he gets 100%.

    Tell your son: FAIL!

  4. Dr. T:

    So when did I become more credulous than my teenager?

    When you wanted to show him your were cool.

  5. David Zetland:

    "So when did I become more credulous than my teenager?"

    since you got a teenager.

  6. dreth:

    people tend to be more credulous about things they know less about.