Gamefication
Johnathan
Masters-Gripshover
August 21,
2014
Game Theory is a wonderful device on how to look at the world, and
it's problems, and it's solutions. For every problem, there's only so
many solutions, or outcomes, that can result. I saw this one youtube
video about Game Theory on the likelihood of Iran obtaining a nuclear
device in order to use for nuclear warfare (Bueno, 2009).
Essentially, if we can predict people's behavior, then we can predict
the future, which makes us useful for many fields, but political
science in general. Game Theory uses mathemathics and probability to
figure out what will most likely happen. Bruce Bueno is the
man's name, and he said that Iran only had so many options: 1)
Obtaining nuclear weapons for mass murder; 2) Obaining nuclear power
for peaceful energy uses, and; 3) Obtaining no nuclear weapons, or
something like that. So since there's only 3 outcomes to this
problem, then we can use probability to determine how likely each one
of those outcomes were.
Bruce Bueno said that Iran will most likely
get the middle option, obtaining nuclear power for energy uses (and
perhaps for defensive posturing, since non-lethal use), but they
won't use it to destroy the world. He was more systematic and had a
richer methodology to his science, but after watching the video
(listed below), I felt safer about the world believe that Iran would
most likely not blow us all up. I understood what he was
saying, and believed his science to be sound. So if we put enough
time into a single decision, then we should be able to figure out
what the options, or solutions, or results could happen, which ones
would most likely happen, and how much power each of those involved
have. Many of these variables are subjective, since they are
judgmental, but I believe there's an objective reality that exists,
and that's where the realm of truth remains.
I recently just watch an inspiring short film about an Elementary
classroom somewhere in Amerika, and the point of the “World Peace”
game, a political game for 25-30 students, was to figure out
complicated world issues, to develop good healthy conversations,
about how to figure to get what each of the 5 nations want, and to
promote World Peace in the process (Rosalia Films, 2010).
Gamefication covers many broad areas. Just a few from a website that
listed many “gamefication ideas for education” mentioned
Duolingo, Ribbon Hero, and John Hunter's “World Peace Game”
(Chou, 2013). Duolingo is a game that teaches you how to learn
languages while you translate texts. Ribbon Hero is an add-on game
for Microsoft Word, and it's a game that teaches you how to use it's
program. And then there's the World Peace game. I remember playing
two Political games during my 20 year tenure of American education,
one in High School, and one in College, and I remember both of those
days very well. The game was fun, I was engaged, and I won one, and
lost the other. I also remember learning how to type using a gaming
program, and all the teacher had to do was administer, which was
probably boring for her, but eventually, I learned how to type, so it
was effective.
The idea of Gamefication can't be denied, and in a way, making
everything into a game is a way we can convince students to learn the
material we're trying to teach. The Reggio Emilia Approach to
education utilizes “games” as a central core tenet to their
educational design and approach. The justification for using games in
the classroom is that the students are more engaged, it's fun, and if
the game is educational, then learning is happening, which is the
point.
Bibliography
Bueno, Bruce. April 7, 2009 (uploaded). “Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Predicts Iran's Future”. TED. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts5MKtXNpMQ
and
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/magazine/16Bruce-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
and http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/?q=node/9593
Chou, Yu-kai. 2013, April 25. “Gamification in Education: Top 10
Gamification Studies That Will Change Our Future.” Yo-Kai Chou
and Gamification (website). Retrieved from:
http://www.yukaichou.com/gamification-examples/top-10-education-gamification-examples/#.U_YHwPldXVo
Rosalia Films. 2010. September 7 (uploaded date). “World Peace and
other 4th-Grade Achievements Extended Trailer”. Rosalia Films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCq8V2EhYs0
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