Saw It!

 
There’s a game that goes around, primarily on Facebook, where someone posts a picture with a minor graphical edit, something that doesn’t actually fit in with the image. They usually caption it “When you see it, post “Saw it!” but don’t say what it is.”
Then you see 13,000 comments of “Saw it!”
What’s the point? Don’t get me wrong, I love games, and I really enjoy games like these where you find the irregularity in the pattern. The problem is in the execution. When all you can do is post “Saw it!”, we get 13,000 comments of “Saw it!” and nothing else. What the hell is the point? Anyone can post “Saw it!” even if they didn’t see it, and they can feel good about appearing right, even if they have no idea what they saw. Instead, being able to say you saw it, and then point out what you saw is part of the fun. Everyone gets to play, and then you read the other comments and see if you were correct, or at the very least you get to see what other people saw.
The other day I posted in a “Saw it!” thread, and when I said I saw it, I also said what I saw, and some of the history behind why the artifact in the image wasn’t supposed to be there. There were people who actually got upset. Okay, you didn’t like that I posted what I saw, but in all honesty what is the point if you don’t actually get to talk about what you saw? Have we reached the point where simply feeling right is enough, and correct answers are shunned? Yes, I know, it’s just a game, but playing games reveals a great deal about who we are, and how we think. Games can be serious. Disagree? Ask the U.S. military what it thinks of games and strategy. Ask the U.S. education system. Wait, no, ask the teachers in the system, don’t ask the administrators. Gods forbid you ask an administrator, you might never get a straight answer.
All of that aside, if you ever see me posting a “Saw it!” game, you better damn well believe I will want you to give me your best answer. Otherwise, what the hell is the fun in the game?