What I hope people learn from WoW

| Friday, May 14, 2010
People are always learning. Sometimes correctly, sometimes not. Here is what I hope they learn from their time in this virtual world.

Reality has rules
WoW has rules. We call them game mechanics. They are the physics of WoW. Knowledge of these rules is possible. Perhaps not perfect, but with determination and some thought, we can infer many of the mechanics even without them being handed to us. This is the science of WoW. Application of this knowledge grants power. Knowing a rotation, hit caps, boss mechanics and loot tables, these all allow us to play better if we choose to do so.

While many accept mediocre, ignorant play with the justification that it is merely a game, I hope that people will still learn that they can do better as they learn and discover more about their world. Hopefully people will not carry the "it's just a game" mentality into reality.

Faith must not become fanaticism
Those who do not study history are bound to repeat it, and our lack of interest in history might explain why religious zealotry has torn apart the world. Perhaps by playing WoW people will not need to study history because they will see it right in front of them; not a distant abstraction offered by a newspaper or textbook. The faiths of WoW give power, personal strength and will. While real life religions rarely claim to make us miracle workers, they do offer willpower and determination to do what is right.

Consider the many faiths within WoW. Which are strongest? Those which are least zealous! The followers of the Light are for the most part battling evil with great success and protecting the innocent. The exceptions are the zealous Scarlet Crusaders who have become the evil they sought to eliminate. The Zandalar trolls have helped to save the world, while the fanatics who follow Hakkar have nearly destroyed it once before.

Studying Works, Mostly
In WoW, skill is more important than gear. Similarly, in real life intellect is more important than sheer time spent. However, lacking sufficient intellect, or skill, a person can compensate with time or gear. I'll use the example of back when I took organic chemistry. I just didn't have the innate intelligence to get it all first try. I doubt many people do. But I eventually learned to study.

Study? That's for stupid people! Yes, it is. We're all stupid and unskilled to varying degrees, so we must all compensate with time. That's not a bad thing at all. The person who needs T9 to clear a heroic, yes it's a bit sad and shouldn't need more than blues, or greens, but if they get through it, they get through it. Would you waste your energy bashing someone who had to study for an easy test? Laugh a bit perhaps, but why waste time insulting them?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

A. if one is a person " who needs T9 to clear a heroic, yes it's a bit sad and shouldn't need more than blues, or greens, but if they get through it, they get through it." How do you get T9 without completing heroics, or something more difficult than heroics? Obviously if they need T9 to clear a heroic, and have T9, they leeched off other people in an annoying fashion to get to where they are.

B. "Would you waste your energy bashing someone who had to study for an easy test? Laugh a bit perhaps, but why waste time insulting them? "

Are people like this being hired by corporations and the government, wasting billions upon billions of dollars through incompetence? If so, it would be worth people's time to bash them. Surely you can see that this is the analogous situation that inspires people to write about methods for dealing with fails in WoW. Unless you are one of those slow people yourself...hm.

Klepsacovic said...

In my exaggerated example, yes, they would have leeched. Not sure where the "annoying fashion" part comes in. But is it leeching, or merely investment? They are creating more runs and more than likely have taken part in the generation of far more than they consumed.

I'd gladly employ the person who has the mental capability to pass the test. If he's slower, that's too bad, but on the plus side, the excessive studying indicates that the individual does not give up easily. Persistence often trumps lazy intellect. Of course that was a false choice, but the point stands: They were competent enough to pass the tests.

As for actual incompetence, that is a different story. The world would be a better place without the incompetent people.

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