Finished reading The Dice Man

Last night I finished reading The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart (the pen name of George Cockcroft). As I’ve blogged about earlier (see here – and here), I was very skeptical about it. But I actually liked the book. It is very funny and it is very thought provoking.

The idea to let the dice control which of your options to choose is a very effective means to reveal illusions regarding the Self and the illusion that you actually can control your life. One thing I thought about while reading this book was how your “identity” is constrained by nothing but your own idea of yourself. You might wish that you could “be” in a certain way in certain situations, but you resist because it “is not you”.

For example, I’ve always been somewhat reserved and quiet when there are people around that I don’t know very well. Nowadays, this doesn’t matter that much to me, but when I was younger, I hated it. I wished I could be like I was when I was with people that I knew. I wished I wouldn’t feel so self-conscious. But the only thing that prevented me from being in a particular way was my idea of “me”. The people around me didn’t know that I was, or was not “myself”.

But as a self-help technique? Well, it might work in some cases, but I still see the danger of just switching illusions. If you find that the dice “works” for you, I would suggest that you ask yourself why. What is it that makes the difference? Why does it feel easier to let the dice choose? How is it different?

I’m curious if Rhinehart/Cockcroft had intended this as a self-help technique, or if he saw that people interpreted it that way, and therefore encouraged it by releasing a “proper” self-help book (The Book of the Die).

Besides all this, the book is very funny. Some parts made me laugh out loud, which is very rare for me. But I felt it was too long and it was an effort to actually finish it. The last 50 or so pages were quite boring. But I do recommend it.