Do we all cheat a little bit? The world of conkers has been thrown into turmoil by allegations that underhand tactics were used in the men’s world championship.
Steel chestnut horrifies conker fans
Do we all cheat a little bit? The world of conkers has been thrown into turmoil by allegations that underhand tactics were used in the men's world championship.
Alastair stared in horror. His hopes of winning the world championship were over. "My conker disintegrated in one hit, and that just doesn't happen," he said. "I'm suspicious of foul play."1
His opponent in Sunday's final was 82-year-old David Jakins. Afterwards he was found to have a fake conker in his pocket, made of steel and painted brown.
Jakins also happened to be the contest's top judge. "The whole thing is nuts," said one conkers fan. "It stinks, and needs to be properly investigated to save our game from scandal."2
Cheating is as old as humanity. A Greek drinking cup from around 490BC carries a picture of a wrestler trying to bite his opponent. At the Olympic Games in 388BC a boxer called Eupolus was found to have bribed his way to victory.
Dice surviving from the Roman era have been found with lead inside to make them land a particular way.
Sport and gambling are among the prime areas for cheating. In VictorianThe era when Queen Victoria was on the British throne, from 1837 to 1901. times there was a great scandal when a friend of the Prince of Wales was accused of cheating at baccaratA card game played at casinos. .
At the 1904 Olympics the winner of the marathon, Fred Lorz, was disqualifiedStopped from taking part in a competition or exam due to breaking the rules. when it emerged that he covered half the distance by car.
In India this summer there has been a wave of arrests of people accused of leaking exam papers. Over two million students have been told their results may not count.3
PlagiarismCopying someone else's work and pretending it is your own. and the use of AIA computer programme that has been designed to think. have become a major headache. Students are not the only ones under suspicion. Kamala HarrisUS Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's running mate. If elected, she will be the first female vice president of the USA. has just been accused of copying passages from Wikipedia in a book she wrote.
Public disgrace has always been society's main weapon against cheating. The boxer Eupolus was forced to pay for a statue of ZeusThe king of the gods, known to the Romans as Jupiter. with a record of his wrongdoing carved on the base. The Prince of Wales's cheating friend was dismissed from the Army.
Do we all cheat a little bit?
Yes: We cheat every time we move a golf ball just a few inches out of the rough, borrow someone else's clever phrase or use supermarket puff pastry to make a pie. It is a sad reflection of our own inadequacy.
No: To cheat is to lose all self-respect. There are plenty of people who recognise that achievements in life mean nothing unless you have succeeded through your own efforts and nothing else.
Or... There is no such thing as "a little bit" where cheating is concerned. You either play by the rules or you do not - a tiny infringement is just as disgraceful as a major one.
Keywords
Victorian - The era when Queen Victoria was on the British throne, from 1837 to 1901.
Baccarat - A card game played at casinos.
Disqualified - Stopped from taking part in a competition or exam due to breaking the rules.
Plagiarism - Copying someone else's work and pretending it is your own.
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
Kamala Harris - US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's running mate. If elected, she will be the first female vice president of the USA.
Zeus - The king of the gods, known to the Romans as Jupiter.
Steel chestnut horrifies conker fans
Glossary
Victorian - The era when Queen Victoria was on the British throne, from 1837 to 1901.
Baccarat - A card game played at casinos.
Disqualified - Stopped from taking part in a competition or exam due to breaking the rules.
Plagiarism - Copying someone else's work and pretending it is your own.
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
Kamala Harris - US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's running mate. If elected, she will be the first female vice president of the USA.
Zeus - The king of the gods, known to the Romans as Jupiter.