Yet another reason to play more computer games

Wired has more good news for game junkies – Video games teach you the scientific method.
Constance Steinkuehler, who may have the world’s most geek lustworthy job ever, game academic at the University of Wisconsin, just released a paper in the Journal of Science Education and Technology titled “Scientific Habits of Mind in Virtual Worlds”.
Apparently the whole concept of wrapping your little mind around the rules governing the game universe in which you’ve subsumed yourself and figuring out how it all works naturally leads you to the path of scientific method, namely, hypothesis, testing, proof. To wit:

…what is science? It’s a technique for uncovering the hidden rules that govern the world. And videogames are simulated worlds that kids are constantly trying to master. Lineage and World of Warcraft aren’t “real” world, of course, but they are consistent — the behavior of the environment and the creatures in it are governed by hidden and generally unchanging rules, encoded by the game designers. In the process of learning a game, gamers try to deduce those rules.
This leads them, without them even realizing it, to the scientific method.

The article is quite interesting and they even have the obligeratory young dude who doesn’t get what he gets quote:

He smiled at her. “Dude, I’m not doing science,” he replied. “I’m just cheating the game!”

So now youngster can add “i’m learning science” to “I’m improving my visual skills” when Mum yells at them.

Check the whole piece here.

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