Gotta go with David on this. Sure, there are people who can find a way to compete on almost anything, but I'll stick with the non-competitive way of enjoying: >Eating >Reading >Travel >Appreciating/collecting art >Goofing around with the kids and grandkids >Xes >And, yes, skiing and mountain biking Of course, I can see how some things might be more enjoyable to some people, if they include an element of competion. But saying that it's a genetic flaw to enjoy it without the competitive element is, in addition to being a factual stretch, perhaps a form of competitive posting, I suppose. --David Merfeld Matt posited, and David Guertin replied-- Matt's claim I believe that if you truly dislike competition, then you have a genetic flaw. Competition is one of the essences of life--no competition, no evolution. Furthermore, competition makes things more fun. Case in point: sailing a boat in <5 knots wind=not so fun; racing a boat in <5 wind=fun. --Matt K. And David Guertin replied: Having said all that, there are certain competitions that make little sense to me, and where I don't see the benefit but do see harm. Musical competitions are one -- I think they miss most of what music is about, and worse, often produce lifeless music. Fishing competitions are another -- some pastimes are just not competitive by nature. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SkiVt-L is brought to you by the University of Vermont. To unsubscribe, visit http://list.uvm.edu/archives/skivt-l.html