Think chess is complicated? Envision a board game invented in China centuries earlier. A game mathematically more complex by entire orders of magnitude, yet simpler at the same time. A game whose scholars romanticize about how a single match reflects the path of the universe. A game whose masters can successfully predict the exact mind state of their opponents based on the moves they make; are they happy? Angry? Busy? Did they experience recent hardship in their lives?
Friends, I present to you the game of Go.
It is a game of territorial conquest, played on a 19x19 board, with two opponents. One player is black, and the other player is white. Two diametrically opposing forces vying for dominance. The players take turns, placing one stone at a time on the intersections between columns and rows. Completely surrounding a group of stones of the opposite color eliminates that group from the board. When no more moves can be made, tallies are taken of the empty space lying within stone formations for scoring purposes. The winner is the one with the highest combination of territory and captured stones.
A battle of wits within a match.
Historically speaking, the game is a decidedly Eastern phenomenon, having been played by anyone from imperial emperors to shoguns to military strategists. Sun Tzu was a huge proponent of Go. Today, there are entire professional leagues dedicated to the game. A few are popping up in America, though these leagues are most prominent in Asia and eastern Europe. There is a ranking system that directly correlates the skill of the player with the skill of similar players. Beginners start at "30 Kyu," eventually going down to 29 Kyu and further down to 1 Kyu as they get better. Proficient players transition from 1 Kyu to "1 Dan," going up the scale to a maximum of "9 Dan:" the true grand masters.
Professional league practice space.
Culturally speaking, it remains ingrained in the lifeblood of many Asian countries including China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia. There are tales of epic matches between historical figures, rivalries between childhood friends, and philosophical schools of thought that arise from Go. Even a manga, Hikaru no Go, about the game was created in Japan and has obtained many awards.
Interested in learning or playing? Here's a website dedicated to online play (entirely free) and a detailed guide with practice examples coded in Java to help you out. Enjoy!
In this article by the Wall Street Journal, entitled "When Gaming Is Good for You," author Robert Lee Hotz presents evidence that video games enable people to develop essential skills. Namely, multitasking, decision-making, and creativity. I have always found this to be a fascinating concept. Too many families today steer their children away from video games because they feel video games are either a waste of time, harmful, or pointless. Fortunately, this isn't the case. I will take three games and discuss the merits of each here.
1. League of Legends
This game teaches players how to multitask, communicate effectively in teams, and analyze their own gameplay in order to improve. It requires constant adaptation to changing situations. Capturing map objectives is key, and although the game is action-based, in high-level gameplay the battles are largely strategic. Players do not have full vision of the map at all times and need to correctly identify where their opponents are most likely to be hiding, avoid those areas, or hide in an area that they know their opponents can't see. This requires constant attention and thinking on-the-fly. One or two mistakes can literally change the course of which team comes out victorious
2. Call of Duty
This game teaches players how to be observant of their surroundings at all times. It also trains one's reflexes, boosting synaptic connections in the mind. Players need to use the environment to their advantage and select the weapons best suited to take down their opponents. In fact, this game is often used as a sort of combat simulation in the U.S. armed forces both because it helps soldiers identify camouflaged opponents as well as desensitizing them to the horrors of real combat. Studies have been done that show playing CoD for soldiers increases the success rate of their missions.
3. World of Warcraft
This game teaches players how to form social relationships with others. Players join guilds, which can do all sorts of events together including quests, player vs. player battlegrounds, and "raids" in which dozens of players band together to take down humongous bosses. Communities and sub-communities form in the game, many players even finding their spouses through the game. Much more than just a game, WoW also has its own economy that includes an auction house, several trade channels, and faction-neutral cities that encourage players to develop knowledge of economic concepts in order to make more gold.
Of course, all of these games have their downsides. It is always important to play in moderation, for any positive effects can quickly become overshadowed by the grip of addiction. The point is, video games can be good for you in many different ways, and society should realize this. I think we're making progress, albeit slowly.
On the first day of class, I remember one student volunteering "life" as an example of a game. Although this got brushed off, I don't think it's entirely implausible. In fact, some might find it useful to think of their lives from this angle in order to give it more structure. There's an interesting book on Amazon that reflects some common themes in this course. Entitled The Ultimate Game Guide To Your Life; Or, The Video Game As Existential Metaphor, the book gives basic life lessons to gamers who are developing into adults.
The book.
For example, common chores such as laundry, taking out the trash, doing the dishes are painted as "daily quests." Filing a tax return and making loan payments are more like major quest objectives. There is also a section on "life hacks" in which the author shares several cool tricks he's discovered in his own life, such as how to fold a shirt in 3 seconds and how to get in front of most lines. Even though the "gamer" only has one "life," the author suggests he has many health points and can recover or lose them based on his decisions (alcoholism, exercise, diet, etc.).
I think this concept is very interesting. Many hardcore gamers were never taught essential life lessons by their family and feel more and more lost as they transition into adulthood. This book talks in a language familiar to gamers and psychologically reframes many often boring tasks, which I believe is a very effective technique if you want to get anyone to do anything.
Funny, no?
I took a screenshot of one] page from the index. As you can see, not only is it funny, with challenges like "Destroying Your Virginity," but also reflective at the same time. Significant chapters in your life are painted as levels. One review on Amazon entitled Fabulously Funny and Fabulously Familiar goes:
"This book is for anyone who has a sense of humor. Monks guides you through each life milestone and helps you avoid each life misstep--with both great laughs and great insight. Reading this book, I had the odd feeling that the author based certain chapters on my own life. I'm a big fan of Monks and look forward to his future work."
I don't know about you guys, but I'd certainly be willing to give this a read.
When I opened up the readings for tomorrow's class, I was not surprised to see a reading by Lippi-Green sitting in the folder. I am currently in a linguistic class entitled "Language and Discrimination". Therefore, not only have I read a lot of Lippi-Green, but I have also discussed these linguistic issues at length. After rereading what Lippi-Green had to say about the Linguistic Facts of Life, I went to the other reading, "Speech Play and Verbal Act".
In Chapter 3, Sherzer claims that "play languages are one of the most common forms of speech play". He then goes on to talk about Pig Latin, and other familiar forms of speech play. This got me thinking about my childhood. I will never forget the time I sat in my third grade classroom and three of the kids around me starting talking “Gibberish”. I was so confused at the time and did not know what was going on.
For those of you that did not have this childish experience, here is a video on how to speak Gibberish:
Anyways, what was most interesting to see, was that in my third grade classroom, speaking gibberish started to create a sense of hierarchy. This new, made up language (which was actually just entirely based on English), gave those students who could speak it an upper hand. For example, people would tell each other "secrets" out loud if only the people they wanted to hear knew how to understand Gibberish and the people that they didn’t want to hear could not.
Those students that never learned to speak it, myself included, were put down and eventually considered to be the minority. However, in time, almost everyone learned how to speak this new language in my third grade class. This put pressure to find something new, which led to the start of the use of "Pig Latin". The same cycle appeared with Pig Latin as it did with Gibberish.
What is most interesting to see, is how quickly these new, invented languages, adapted to the people around me in my third grade world. It was so easy for these new play languages to become a "fad" and then shortly die out being replaced by something else. All students wanted was something that could make them "better" than the rest of the students, something that gave them more power, something that allowed them to "win". From this, I could see how speaking a language is like playing a game. The better you are and the more you practice, the higher chance you have to "win" and succeed.
Respect. It's something each of us demands, but how do we go about earning it? For me, sports has always been crucial in earning the respect of my peers. In sports, there is no bullshitting. You either have the talent to play a sport, or you don't; therefore you have no way to hide behind excuses or blame others. Your play on the field/court is in someways a reflection of your personality. Are you the tough cat who is willing to give the extra 2% necessary for victory, or are you the weakling who shrinks in the face of competition, and worse yet openly shows your fear?
For me, Basketball has always been a venue where I've earned the respect of others. Physically I don't particularly stand out. I am of average height and average build. I am also very unassuming. I don't talk much trash, but rather play the game to the best of my ability. Because of my stature, people often take my skills granted and I am not guarded very hard. Everything changes after I begin to make a few shots. My defender realizes that I am talented and that my game must be respected. In many ways, my experience on the court translates into life outside the court.
Nothing about my life particularly WOWS others. I am a smart person, but others are surely smarter. I am a good looking person, but others are surely better looking. I am charismatic, yet others are surely more charismatic. So, in keeping with my basketball mindset, I find inspiration in being overlooked by others. I carry with me the proverbial chip-on-the-shoulder mindset. Regardless of how people view me, I take it upon myself to show other's that my abilities are equal to, if not exceeding, theirs, and that I have earned their respect.
Now that we have entered the month of March, I can't help buy comment on the upcoming NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Tournament. Tonight, 68 teams will realize their goal of playing in the NCAA Tournament, but only 1 team will cut down the nets in New Orleans. When thinking about March Madness I think back to Steven Garcia's presentation about social psychology. I wonder whether the runner-up feels more upset, disappointed, sad, than the other 66 teams that don't make it to the national championship game. To advance so far, yet fall short of the ultimate goal must be incredibly painful and no other team probably can fully relate, but every team goes through the ups and downs of March, and that is what makes college basketball so much fun.
Every year when tournament time rolls around, I am always amazed by effort and resilience shown by the top teams and players in the nation. Each team enters the NCAA Tournament thinking that they have a legitimate shot to walk away as champions and that makes March Madness so thrilling. There are the upsets and buzzer-beater thrillers, but my favorite part of March Madness would have to be the Mid-Major Cinderella run to the Final Four. Teams like George Mason, VCU, and Butler have given new life to the possibility of small schools making it to the Final Four and possibly winning a national title. As a result, every school enters the NCAA Tournament with the hope and aspiration of winning a title, but when they fall short the disappointment shown on their faces tells you everything you need to know. March for me is all about passion, competition, and an enduring love for the game of basketball. I love March and I can't wait for this year's tournament. Hopefully you enjoy March this year as well. Whether it's your first time or your umpteenth, sit back and get your popcorn ready because its sure to be amazing(1).
After listening to Professor Gelman lecture about the psychological need for children to play, it got me thinking more and more about how play is important for every social creature. When I think about my own childhood, the neighborhood kids that weren't allowed to come out and play always ended up being the most awkward. Likewise, people who never walked their dogs tended to have dogs that were aggressive or antisocial. Melinda Wenner's article,The Serious Need for Play, briefly discusses how play is important for animals, such as dogs. When puppies play, they learn the different between a friendly tumble and an aggressive attack. The also learn how to trust. It is not only important for you to play with your dog to build a good relationship, but also for your dog to play with other dogs.
In doing further research, I found that in puppy training websites, such as the guide provided by PEDIGREE, include instructions to socialize your puppy with other dogs before they get too old. Once dogs are socialized, they have fuller lives are and less stressed when they encounter other dogs and people. Also, they are less likely to act out to get your attention like this:
More and more owners are now realizing their pet's need for socialization. There are even play date websites for your puppy now. Play is clearly just as important in animals as it is in humans. In some ways, it is even more important since their interactions with anything beyond the family is unfamiliar and often limited. However, proper socialization, or proper puppy play, can lead to a lifetime of happiness for your dog.
