TED Talk by Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

It really has been a long while since I blogged. The usual life and work suspects to blame which I suppose isn’t enough explanation for the several months of absence. Glad to be back and nothing like having another TED2010 Talk classic to move me to blog it. Jane’s talk about gaming and making the world, life, and people better hit the sweet spot.

The key points which bear remembering are:

1. Passion and energy are often neglected or dismissed as irrelevant in the drive for all things “better”.

2. Gaming is an wonderfully liberating way to teach and to learn. Try it sometime and don’t be afraid to let others try as well.

3. The inner creative genius in all of us can be stimulated through “play”. Gaming like WoW or in my own gaming life, Ultima, Wizardry, Netrek, Pinball, Chess, can develop team-skills, analytical smarts, discipline, self-confidence, community and leadership skills.

Nowadays I find that the emphasis in education is away from play and more toward standardization, memorization but this is a mistake. Innovation, creativity, the lack of fear of failure are losing out because it’s hard work. And likewise, gaming is hard work but necessary and from Jane’s inspirational case for more gaming efforts to be used and harnessed.

Unleash your inner-gamer!