The guardian article How online gamers are solving science’s biggest problems considers a fascinating new approach bringing the gaming experience to solving real world problems.
The results are already impressive but this is just the start. In the same way Facebook, Twitter and others brought the power of connectedness to communication through the power of the interweb. It is only natural that the same benefits be applied in other spheres. Exploring the world and understanding it at other levels than just text.
What is wonderful about gaming is simply that the limits to what can be expressed or experienced lie with the individual. The gaming genre has no set rules about the medium in which they take place so text has the same power as video. The skill of the game creator is what makes the difference.
This is both the problem and the advantage of games. They can be anything. That makes their evolutionary journey to embrace and benefit from the web so interesting. Their potential is huge. Championed by our most celebrated minds.
Play is the highest form of research.~~Albert Einstein
Play has got us where we are today. Though we are only just beginning to understand what this can mean given the immense resources available in todays world.
Life must be lived as play.~~Plato
Following this story while it plays out is a truly fascinating adventure.