You shouldn't need escapism to be functional. You were burned out, that's what should be avoided. Like gambling, video games provide a reward loop that keep people coming back to them, and it only gets worse.
It's odd that people in general want to stop watching television and enjoy life more, but get involved with video games, which is just as mind numbing as television.
I also find it very odd that in a website such as Hacker News, where hackers praise themselves as smart and productive people get carried away by playing games, which hardly generates anything.
Such as the studies that showed that by playing chess, you get better at chess, playing video games will make you better at one thing, playing video games. There are some side gains, but they are negligible. One would benefit a lot more from other activities.
Well, what about fun? Both for games and television I'd argue that they're fine in moderation, and that it depends on what particular game or film/show.
The Wire? Awesome and very educational. Planescape Torment (or other RPG's)? Better, in some ways, than a great book.
Also, chess is a game too, so really just a subset of 'games'. I don't really see what you're trying to point out with that comparison.
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You shouldn't need escapism to be functional. You were burned out, that's what should be avoided. Like gambling, video games provide a reward loop that keep people coming back to them, and it only gets worse.
It's odd that people in general want to stop watching television and enjoy life more, but get involved with video games, which is just as mind numbing as television.
I also find it very odd that in a website such as Hacker News, where hackers praise themselves as smart and productive people get carried away by playing games, which hardly generates anything.
Such as the studies that showed that by playing chess, you get better at chess, playing video games will make you better at one thing, playing video games. There are some side gains, but they are negligible. One would benefit a lot more from other activities.
Well, what about fun? Both for games and television I'd argue that they're fine in moderation, and that it depends on what particular game or film/show.
The Wire? Awesome and very educational. Planescape Torment (or other RPG's)? Better, in some ways, than a great book.
Also, chess is a game too, so really just a subset of 'games'. I don't really see what you're trying to point out with that comparison.