Playing CMBN is good for you.

[Tashtego]

I recently stumbled upon an article on Boston.com by Jonathan Gottschall titled “Why fiction is good for you”. The link is at the end. The first line of his story caught my attention “Is fiction good for us? We spend huge chunks of our lives immersed in novels, films, TV shows, and other forms of fiction.” I certainly think that being immersed in CMBN would qualify as “other forms of fiction.” Albeit, good solid historical fiction. So, I read on.

The article is 5 pages long, and although the author mainly discusses literary fiction, he mentions a few ideas, that I think could apply here.

Such as, “All these questions about the effects of fiction lead up to one big one: Why are humans storytelling animals at all? Why are we — as a species — so hopelessly addicted to narratives about the fake struggles of pretend people?” I am sure the 82nd Airborne guys in my 2nd platoon would take exception to that “pretend people” crack. Although, of late, they have been struggling quite a bit.

Another, “I wanted to explore the possibility that fiction generally . . .  may act as a kind of social glue among humans, binding fractious individuals together around common values.” This forum immediately jumps to mind.

And finally, “Fiction is often treated like a mere frill in human life, if not something worse. But the emerging science of story suggests that fiction is good for more than kicks. By enhancing empathy, fiction reduces social friction. At the same time, story exerts a kind of magnetic force, drawing us together around common values.”

So, the next time someone (wife, child, etc.) asks you why you spend so much time screaming at your monitor, you can look them in the eye and tell them that the game helps you to “perform the essential work of defining group identity and reinforcing cultural values.”

And besides, you have to get your guys ready to flank that German position.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-29/ideas/31417849_1_fiction-morality-happy-endings

[sburke]

So, the next time someone (wife, child, etc.) asks you why you spend so much time screaming at your monitor, you can look them in the eye and tell them that the game helps you to “perform the essential work of defining group identity and reinforcing cultural values.”

And besides, you have to get your guys ready to flank that German position.

http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-29/ideas/31417849_1_fiction-morality-happy-endings

You had me up until the point when they are looking over my shoulder and realize "my guys" are the SS.

[umlaut]

Why would the SS flank a german position?

[Destraex1]

spam is getting smarter

[Michael Emrys]

I suspect that our brains are hard wired to think in terms of narrative. Whenever possible, we reduce everything to some kind of story. Such and such things happened to So and So in this and that order. Reading or watching fiction is largely just keeping the mechanism greased, but it can also have a pedagogical function. One of the better ways to teach someone something is to present it in story form. That's because—ta-dah!—that's how our brains are set up to receive (and as importantly, store) information.

Michael

[pazuzusmiles]

...yes I agree....you spend hours in these games and you start getting attached to ur pixeltruppins...just like characters in books and the battles themselves are the actual stories rolling out...and each battle has its own unique landscape...yes I even find myself reading books pertaining to the era/ect in which I am playing....interactive historical fiction...hahaha

[Sakai007]

LoL, and I thought I was the only one! I have an old issue of WWII Magazine handy most every time I play. More often then not, when I got to the 'reading room' of the house after I have finished my business I play some more since it's normally some kind of mil history book I am reading at the time. Interesting information presented here!

[John Kettler]

Tashtego,

Or, you could say you're "structuring time," which is the formal definition of a game: "a means of structuring time."

Regards,

John Kettler