The other day I was writing about my positive experience with video games. Just now I read an article from The Economist about the therapeutic applications of video games (mostly they talk about treating phobias), which concludes:

Critics denounce video games for promoting violence and destruction, despite the lack of solid evidence to support such claims. The evidence for gaming's curative and therapeutic benefits, by contrast, is rather more convincing.

Mostly the article talks about custom written applications, or modifications of existing games (using a magical patch which allows you to do magical computer things). If the nay sayers who denounce video games had their way, we wouldn't have the technological expertise to explore such possibilities.

Anyway. I just thought it was interesting that I came across the article, since I had been writing about the subject recently.

Two things came up at Thanksgiving dinner this year that I wanted to talk about. One was my "blog" and the other was video games. I prefer to refer to it as a journal, but it is what is, so it is a blog. I sort of defended the existence of my journal by saying that I started it because I wanted to practice writing to keep my skills from decaying. That is actually true, although there is another reason.

I find when I get angry or into an argument, I often become incoherent. It's not that the ideas are unclear to me, in fact, I find just the opposite: the ideas are so clear in my head that I don't stop to explain key points that need to be made. If I take my time and write down my reasoning for a particular position I find that I can be much more persuasive, or at least less nervous if the subject should come up in a conversation. I have strong opinions, but I tend to be non-confrontational.

Take the other subject at dinner: video games. In the 7th grade I wrote an essay about why video games were good that was so coherent and well written that my no-good English teacher Mr. Farley wrongly accused my mother of having written it. My father felt that I spent too much time playing video games and tried to dissuade me from doing so. In the long term he didn't alter my behavior, I think that he was wrong to try, and I don't think that my interest in video games has stunted my personal growth. I hardly play video games at all anymore, but I do not regret the time I invested in them.

At dinner, one of the guests said that video games were bad because you don't use your own imagination. Since I tend to be non-confrontational in person, I didn't contradict the guest. While it is sort of a personal reasoning, and may not be relevant to everyone's experience, I'd like to explain why I disagree here for the record, and so that in the future I have a coherent line of reasoning for arguing the subject.

(Why video games can be good...)