Reality is Broken: A Book Review and Giveaway Post

I used a random number generator to pick giveaway winners. Alas, the first number was an insurance spammer and I am not that charitable; I pushed “generate” again and got #7. Jocelyn wins the copy of Mystery Kill. There are two things you should know about Jocelyn. First, she is so smart, funny and insightful that if she wasn’t younger than me I’d want to be her when I grow up. Secondly, I think I’m probably going to wait until she gets home from her sabbatical in Turkey to mail her the book!

Totally Nancy Drew here, like many others. Then I grew up and realized I miss some sort of natural curiosity--I'd start reading mysteries, get half way through, shrug, and stop. I sort of didn't care who dunnit.

All of which is to say, maybe I should hope I don't win this giveaway, eh?

Posted by: Jocelyn | January 17, 2011 at 05:48 PM

REALITY IS BROKEN was a change of pace for me—a non-fiction book that I’m not reading for school. And it is really interesting. This book takes an academic subject and makes it imminently compelling and readable. Plus, it may turn some of your thoughts about gaming upside-down.

Two of my kids (MVP and Social Butterfly) don’t really play video games at all; the other two (Grownup Girl and Danger Boy) do, or have, played games—sometimes in an amount that I was worried was excessive. These days they’re both so busy with other stuff that although they enjoy gaming as a means to relax, it is definitely not “too much.”

Jane McGonigal begins the book by defining games and her favorite definition comes from a philosopher, Bernard Suits, “Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” Simple, yet brilliant, eh?

This really resonated with me: “We’d be much better off avoiding easy fun and seeking out hard fun, or hard that we enjoy . . .” So true, isn’t it? Do you feel better after vegging in front of the TV for two hours or gardening for two hours?

The connection to gaming this has it that we have the tools to harness the “hard fun” that gaming can be and press that into service to reinvent our current world and reality. Instead of people building and populating fantasy worlds like “The Sims,” the same creativity and experimentation could be brought to bear on real-world problems.

Even if you are not a non-fiction fan, or a big fan of sociological/psychological work, this book is captivating.

What is your view of gaming? Are you a gamer? How about your kids? Leave me a comment and I’ll pick a winner next week.

To answer my own comment—I tend not to play on-line or video games because I have a very obsessive personality about certain things and I’ve had some experiences (Tetris, I’m talking about you! And you too, Facebook Word Scramble!) that make think it’s best if I just don’t get started.

Comments

[Serial Mommy]

I'm in the process right now of trying to figure out what is too much and how do I teach my children who are just becoming pre-teens and teenagers to monitor themselves to ensure that when they become adults it does not interfere with their abilities to BE adults. That's the best I've got as an answer for you because other than that, I really have no clue.

[Reluctant Blogger]

Oh you are so like me. It is for that reason exactly why I do not even start playing. I occasionally, if I need to relax, play solitaire on the computer or Staries, but I try not to as I am too easily addicted.

I do impose a limit on my sons but that is mostly because they are so busy with other stuff and we just end up rushing if I let them lurk on the Playstation for too long and then we are all crabby. I often wonder how long they would stay on if I left them to it, or whether after a few weeks of using it all the time, they would grow tired of it. I guess I'd only get to find out if one of them broke their legs and was forced to stay home and do nothing for weeks.

I don't think the book is for me though.

[phd in yogurtry]

I do think some gaming skills are applicable to real world problems and behaviors. (Some) gaming is better than (most) TV but not better than gardening. Does this book talk about gaming as a tool for sharpening surgery skills and jet flying?

[Slow Panic]

My kids play video games. I try to limit their screen time (TV, computer, video games). It's tough though. They would play all day if I would let them.

I heard this author interviewed. Very interested in reading this book.

[kellyg]

Ha! Right now as I type this my son is home from school (snow day!) and has been working on his SSX Tricky skillz for most of the morning. The kid rocks. He's probably better than dad.

I'm not much of a gamer. My husband is although he doesn't have much time for the PS2 games he likes to play. Most of his gaming is now done on his iPad (Angry Birds). My son has several games he plays on different platforms. My daughter likes to play games, too although not as much as the boys. We have a Wii that is great for group play. So yeah. We are a gaming family.

We have days where the kids are on the games a lot and other days where they aren't turned on at all. I think in the end it evens out. We'll see as they get older if the balance shifts and the screen time becomes more of a concern.

One reason I've been pretty relaxed about my son's screen time is that the games give him an in with his classmates at school. With his Autism, a lot of his interests aren't age appropriate (they skew a bit young) but the games are. It gives him a shared interest with his classmates. Also he can see his progress as he works on learning the skills. And I can use that as he works on real life skills -- practice makes perfect.

And now I have another book to add to my ever growing list of books to read. It sounds very interesting.

[kellyg]

Popping back in to go completely off topic and ask how GuG is doing in the snow storm. I live across Lake Michigan and we've were keeping an eye on Chicago to see what we could expect and how much crossing the lake would affect the storm.

My advice for riding out a snow storm -- a pot of chili and a pan of brownies.

[green girl in wisconsin]

Not a gamer, but that quote about seeking out the hard fun really resonates with me, too.

[Marms37]

What I want to know is if after playing Tetris excessively you try to fit shapes in between the words on the page of ... let's just say ... a book? Or is that just me?

[Little Miss Sunshine State]

I played until I conquered Tetris on the gameboy and never played another game again.
My son played a LOT when he was in middle and high school, I think it was an ADD coping mechanism of tuning out and focusing on one thing.
My daughter plays a few Tetris-like games on her phone as a stress-relief from college schoolwork.
My husband is involved in some type of an an RPG. Sometimes he plays until after midnight, if he is off work the next day.
My current version is old-fashioned paper crossword puzzle books. Some days I do 5 large puzzles and I am obsessed as anyone with a video game. I occasionally go online and play a game or two of MahJong Solitaire.

[Heather]

Marms37, I would go to sleep with the Tetris pieces falling and falling in my head. It was actually quite relaxing, like counting sheep.
I blame my addiction to Dr. Mario for less than stellar grades my college freshman year.
My husband played a lot of whatever that first popular shooting game is and he said he'd be driving home after playing and still feel his mind in the game and think about shooting people. Not like he was going to (of course!), but his mind was getting trained that way. He has never played since I've known him and that's more than enough reason for me to never bring a shooting game in our house!!

[Lisa Munley]

Really good review! I agree on the 'hard fun' vs. 'easy fun'. Wouldn't it be great if games could help us tackle real world problems? Thanks so much for being on the tour!

[Magpie]

Interesting. I've heard that video game ability is actually a good skill builder for surgeons who do rhe kind of work where the tools have to controlled indirectly.

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