In the game "First Loser Wins" you win points by coming in second place in competitions, and then you win the game overall by having the second-most amount of points. http://firstloserwins.com
The Byzantine Generals Problem's only prereq is familiarity with basic mathematical notation and a willingness to read carefully. The paper is seminal; it articulates a major computer security concern, the concern that rogue nodes in a network may lie in their communications.
Writing a monad blog post is obligatory for all who know monads. Here's mine: a monad is a class with a sensible flatMap operation. Hope that helps you understand monads...
> I'm very willing to assent to the idea that spiritual masters experience less loneliness
Chogyam Trunpga, founder of the Shambhala Buddhist tradition, said "Egolessness is a concept, a philosophy, but loneliness is a reality that you experience. A feeling of loneliness is part of the journey. As for me, I feel that way constantly, and I think it's a very healthy feeling, a very real feeling."
There is an important difference between meditating on a game and meditating on your breath: meditating on your breath is boring --- and that boredom is good for you. According to Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche "Boredom is part of the discipline of meditation practice" [1].
As for the relevance of arguing / debating: not everything is non dual (in a manner of speaking). In Tibetan Buddhism this is reflected in the Two Truth doctrine, where there are two levels of truth: relative and absolute. Absolute is non-dual, whereas the relative is where we live our dualistic lives. Tibet has a long history of debate.
"The argument [for building a civilization on Mars] that I actually find most compelling is that it would be an incredible adventure. I think it would be the most inspiring thing that I can possibly imagine. And life needs to be more than just solving problems every day. You need to wakeup and be excited about the future, and be inspired, and want to live." -- Elon Musk
This is the first time I have heard that science states that free will is an illusion: "According to the modern scientific view, there is simply no room at all for freedom of the human will." http://aurellem.org/society-of-mind/som-30.6.html
It's difficult to develop a winning strategy.