After reading the arguments of Erbert and the other writers on this matter as well as reviewing the subject matter from TED talks, I have come to the conclusion that Erbert may be overly critical and potentially flippant in his argument, but he is still correct. That being said, while the creation of video games does not necessarily constitute art, it may rather constitute a methodology of learning.

As discussed the video through Ted.com, technology and video games can be used teach to school classes new alternative method of education. Interestingly students for this method of education over other methods, and it has shown higher test scores compared to other methods of education: including rote memorization, purpose driven teaching, and other methods which generally do not require the student to learn the information to be applied to an immediate purpose–as provided by the second and third essays. It would be interesting to see if the virtual world becomes the new classroom of the future; even more interesting to see if this virtual world can provide more successful students.

I find the Ted talk to be very inspiring in regards to the process of education that the students go through to learn the information. Also the article by Howard Rheingold Learning, Playing, Designing: Video Games in School further expresses this idea that video games unleash a special realm of success and creativity. The Ted speaker makes a reference to Outliers—a book which describes the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people, the former being known as outliers to the system when they become extraordinary in their abilities—along with it she provides the fun fact that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of study to become a virtuoso at a subject. Coincidentally, she offers that this is approximately the amount of time we spend in our grad-school educations.

Personally I am less interested in the ability to learn virtually, through video games, or through gaming period. I am more interested in the ability to use technology to virtually feed my brain in a never ceasing means of providing nourishment to my hungry desire to consume knowledge. I spend hours upon hours a day on the internet, sometimes in the meaningless realms of Facebook or Pintrest, and others reading information and text which is unconsciously intended to grow my mental repertoire.

I have perhaps one interesting aspect that makes me slightly different from other students—no matter what the subject matter is usually, I am very interested in it. I do not require the perception that the information needs to be used immediately or presented as a method of solving a problem in order to learn it. Perhaps It’s because I have this depressionistic hoarding tendency of knowledge ( economic depression that is, you know, your grandparents or great grandparents who tend to keep everything, regardless of whether or not they actually need it). The perception here is that I might eventually need that information, and who am I to try and attempt and determine when that time will be?

Consequently, I tend to remember much of the information I see, which helps me build a large reservoir of information. Often I am referred to a person full of random, useless factoids of information, which I often spout without purpose to the conversation—it’s a curse I know. But my point is rather that video games are not the answer to society’s problems as the TED speaker projects, neither are they art—and I don’t attempt to postulate that they are actually going to be a new method of teaching students; but virtual teaching and the usage of technology will enhance learning in the future. And perhaps for those students who apparently ‘need’ that extra push—I would prefer to just let them fall toe the way side and get the life they deserve for not ‘caring’—you could perceptively put that ‘game’ methodology to work. However, I warn you, just like exchanging between monetary units and currencies, there is a cost to exchange between virtual reality and the physical reality.

I have a lot of friends who play WoW, DnDO, LoL, or other online semi-social online video games, and it basically consumes their life. They do not produce money on this game—except fake items of virtual satisfaction. And before I become criticized for bashing what I have never played, I will preemptively retaliate by stating that I have in fact played WoW for nearly 2-months’ time. My conclusion on the matter, as Ian Bogost presents—it is a widely addictive, money draining, waste of time. In fact, as I type this, my one roommate has yet to begin his homework and has been playing WoW since Friday when he got off of class practically non-stop. Just replaying the same bosses over and over again, some bosses he has never beaten—being the highest level possible on multiple characters I will assume these bosses are not meant to be beaten so easily on Epic mode, but he still tirelessly tries at it. I do not believe this fosters a need for success as much as an obsession with eventually winning—but interestingly, this individual is the most underperforming individual in my dormroom. This isn’t to insult him; it’s just to show the essentially pointless endeavor upon which he embarks.