Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
PC Gamer
PC Gamer
Lincoln Carpenter

In a fascinating use of free will, Old School RuneScape player spent 4,304 hours catching 275,196 shrimp and 257,064 anchovies to max out his fishing skill in the worst way possible

A player character fishes for shrimp in Old School RuneScape.

Across the ages, theorists and theologians have wrestled with an irreconcilable question: Is free will an inherent capacity of the human soul, or a misapprehension of things predetermined and divine? Is it a unique function of the human animal, or an illusory quirk of cognition bound by circumstance and necessity?

If free will is indeed a figment of our moral imagination, how then do we account for the rare and heroic few who—by wielding their own agency—ascend to heights that shame those of us left toiling in mundanity and mediocrity? How do we answer for the likes of Old School RuneScape player Bosby, who this week entered the annals of history after successfully maxing out his fishing skill using the least efficient possible method in a grind that took over two years?

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.