Here we can talk about any topic or question in which we want to or have pondered about, and want to share, discuss opinions as to know and learn of others. We can share references to support our stands or talk about an article that you found quite interesting and intriguing XP.

I will begin showing an article that talks about the possibility that video gamers may be at a category of expert in visual processing, the hours of playing developed better visual skills and thus your capacity to learn and perform better on others or similar visual tasks. The study focuses on the learning and performance of visual tasks specifically. Article: http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/research-news/score-video-gamers-may-learn-visual-tasks-more-quickly

what do you think about it? playing video games can develop skills (of any kind)? do you believe they are (or can be) more than for the use of mere play and to have fun (even if that is reason enough for playing them XP)? or they are a waste of time and one should focus on developing directly the skill whoever wants and there is lots of stuff that can bring the benefits that video games could give?.

That's a very interesting read, the linked article is, though not very surprising for me. Maybe cause I've heard of or had read something similar before. And I think it's certainly true, though not always cause there are always some exceptional cases.

I think having a moderate amount of gaming is good, cause it really sharpens your senses and your accuracy in your fingers. I read that it's a good thing if surgeons play games that require a lot of keyboard-tapping cause it makes their fingers move better, thus performing better during a surgery.

I didn't knew the surgery thing, well one more thing to know, and I believe too that it depends on the type of the game, every one of them requires different set of skills, but the visual ones are essential XP (still lots of games don't even demand too much visual skills).

And me that I have been in the gaming world for all my life, I can certify that it really teaches you skills, and their utility in real life appears when you less now about it, like recognizing visual stuff and differences, or logical and spatial reasoning, some manual stuff, or maybe understanding the mechanics (how it works, it's rules) of something and exploit what it can do. Some little stuff, I believe there is more and stuff I haven't tried yet.

I created this thread to fill a function like a chat thread but regarding conversations that are deep or the best informed one can be on any topic, so feel free to ask or begin a chat with something you want to ponder about (the only issue I see is that if it's something specific and no one knows or doesn't want to talk about, then the chat may become stagnant, so maybe for specific stuff it would be best to create a different thread all the way.)

what do you think about it japo?

I'll continue with the benefits of gaming first. I notice that people who play games are generally more adventurous and are more open to new ideas, though it doesn't mean that those who don't game are less adventurous. Like gamers would generally readily try things out for themselves instead of always asking for directions or instructions from others. I have some non-gamer friends who are like that, and some of them are to the level that they are would ask you about something that they can easily explore themselves. I have this non-gamer friend who asked me if there are computers in the new library in the campus, and if he needs the student ID to login, while he's actually paying his first visit to the new library (it's already been opened for a month now) just a few hours later in the morning (when he asked). The point here is, why can't you just walk into the library and turn on the computer and see for yourself? I face-palmed so hard when he asked me about the computers.

As for this thread itself, I think it's very good idea for people who like to think deep. I think it encourages people like us to think more, wider, and even deeper, as well as for those who wish to start thinking more and go on an adventure in their minds.

Hum... If it's for another discussion... Let's see... How about a little discussion about our own country's education system?

yep, I think that is kinda true, the thing about trying stuff by yourself, experiencing (and experimenting) it, dare to exploit its possibilities and test how happens and what does what. But it's not on everyone or all the time, or at all the situations, but still, it teaches you ways to approach to experiment (and experience) with reality.

Hum, our country educational system, it's a tricky one since I don't know much on how to compare it with others, but I can say it's quite general, it focuses mostly on the scientific side of knowledge, leaving some social sciences and humanistic careers in the shadows, the most common thing in here is to want to be a medic, an accountant, an administrator, an engineer, and so on, the masses doesn't give too much importance to careers like arts, sociology or even psychology, on those terms with lots of thinks, but those who dominate us, quite a good quantity are sociologists that became politics, but the others that work for them just receive very little salary.

in the basic education, the middle school and high school (they aren't separated in here, only by name and by the uniform they wear but they are given inside the same institutions) the focus is on sciences, they give the basic ones, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and at the sides they give other subjects like, technical drawing, spanish, english, psychology, accounting, some kind of informatics (really basic lame ones, but at least it's the basics and teaches something, at least on my high school), and others not worth mentioning and minor ones that may or not appear in other high schools (but that is mostly the integral subjects that we have to give on every school).

you can graduate on a mention, like having an specialized extra year dedicated to study an occupation or profession, like a computer technician, accountant or even an electrician. Some high schools in the last 2 years of bachelor studies, they give the option to study "humanities", in that enters, they see in a more detailed manner the arts, latin, french, english, delving into psychology (I think), still they have more basic mathematics and accounting; there are other subjects for sure for which I don't know their existence since I didn't chose that mention XP; there can be some variation and the focus on subjects regarding the high school, like more languages, subjects and activities.

I have heard that this kind of system regarding the demands of education in the foreign is quite ample and rounded, so a good student in here can fare well in other countries with this basic lineup where there is nearly not specializations or too much choices, and the way of imparting it changes from teacher to teacher, but the pattern mostly is a give and take between what they say to you is law and there is no other way around it and if you say there is, some will not give your the points you because it isn't the one they teach to you (it's said to be a banking education in here), some younger (mostly) and old creative teachers learned and try new ways to teach, so you participate more, give more Ideas, give you room to do something on your own, to create as you please and some are a mix of those, the best ones are the ones that relate what they teach to reality and show you a meaning to study it.

but the kind of assignments and methods are pretty basic and given nearly on the same fashion by all the teachers, and there are lots of assignments for every subject and there is a really wide forced selection of subjects for everyone, so there appears a problem with the education system, lack of renovation with the teaching method, there is little research on it, and not everyone is capable to handle these scientific subjects at once, and they hate them to the core XD, chemistry, physics and mathematics (they call them "las tres marías" the three maries), add biology.

Not everyone has the motivation or even the innate capabilities to learn those and in an educational system that promotes learning nearly only by memory and then forgetting it all because it doesn't serve your purposes, that lacks (some promote creative thinking, but it's not the strongest pattern) the teaching and the help to develop raw intellectual skills (in the various forms they can present itself) and teaches little about being autodidact, but most have to force their way through it, because the demands are too high for some that you have to make your own way to learn effectively and accomplish them, so you end learning what is really needed like basic skills to fare well on your own in the academic realm (or anything related to those) the hard way, and in the meantime lots of people fall in the way, it's really a huge filter.

nowadays they are trying to include people of all social classes, making "even" the possibilities to enter good public colleges, the quality in higher education is good in my country I believe (but don't ever choose a bolivarian university, they are the worst of the worst), still in behavior the difference in social classes mostly its hardly to notice (except in common extreme cases), but the money is the key marker difference, private colleges to rich people (some are of a pretty low quality, they are pirates as we call them, arg! (you pay and do favors to higher ranks so they do anything for you, even finding you a place in the career, and it's easier while you have better social connections)), or the one that cans and there is mafia, corruption and racism on most, even in public ones (but the public side depends on the career or faculty), still its well rounded the situation and there haven't appeared too much serious problems and the public education is really high so if a lot is rotten who cares, choose another one, demand and fight them or join them.

Sorry for long post XD, but I tried to put everything I could in my mind on the subject, and still it's biased XP and uninformed, just my experience living in my country.

Wow long posts here LOL... It might just have infinity hub chat beat!

Hiding Vic's quote cause am saving space:

I took my time reading this on Friday but didn't get to reply. Reading this makes me realize that the system in my country isn't the only one that's like that after all. I just thought it was just my country all along, and other countries are most likely doing better than us (cause heck, I could easily see a lot of people in neighboring countries being smarter than most people of my country, and there are stats).

I was kinda pushed towards the direction of sciences as well, and the culture of my country would tell a child that when they grow up, they need to be doctors, or lawyers, or engineers... Wait, that's all that I'm always hearing. Any other direction other than those are like meh for the society. Like me trying to go for actuarial science, some would really question me cause it's not really in high demand in my country (there are only less than 50 actuaries in my country, or so I am told). They'd ask like, "Why don't you be a doctor? A lawyer? Or an engineer?"

Back in school, our streams separate into science and arts (social courses, liberal arts, traditional arts, and business courses) at the age of 16 (Form 4, which is Grade 10 for the US education system). Those who got a good standing for their public exam in Form 3 (Grade 9, we have a public exam then, and from Form 1 to Form 3 is considered lower secondary) will be thrown into the science stream. I had a friend who chose to go for arts, but was quickly forced by the school to take on sciences instead. Being the genius he is, he did well, but then it was really a waste of his time. He could've spent his two years (Form 4 and Form 5) studying something that's related to his targeted major (he's studying for accounting now) instead of mopping around with chemicals, or laws of Newton, or the process of Meiosis.

And the education system here is really just trying to jam everything into your head from the textbook and force yourself to vomit them all out during the final public exam. Those who possess good memory or has good memorizing skills will excel, but those who don't will then have to keep struggling and fail. I'm the type who has bad memory and I choose not to memorize but to understand whatever that I'm learning. So I was kind of the "outcast" of the class, cause I ask too many whys, what-ifs, and why-nots, and will not back down until my question is satisfied, much to some of my teachers' chagrin cause many of them don't like us questioning them too much (though younger teachers are more likely to help, and if you can get close with the older teachers). My questioning also irritated some of my classmates. They thought I was asking too much, and should just shut up and take things as it is (SHUT UP AND TAKE THINGS AS IT IS!!?) and live with it.

Now that I'm out of the stupid system (cause I'm studying in a private college, even though it's hella expensive), I'm really glad that I made the choice to not continue with Form 6 (Grade 12, but is optional for my country) and proceed to local universities (they've got quite the bad rep and image for me). Studying in my current program (the American Degree Transfer Program) has been a bliss and eye-opener, and I came to enjoy studying more than I did (I've always liked studying).

brandon_g wrote:Wow long posts here LOL... It might just have infinity hub chat beat!

This is what happens when Vic and I are on the loose on a discussion.

I see that :D.