TED talks tend to be something I take with a grain of salt. You hear some good ides but my complaint is that these “talks” are often Silicon Valley oligarchs lecturing other Silicon Valley oligarchs. Ergo, their “solutions” will flop in the real world because Democracy and civil liberties are pesky obstacles to their brand of progress.
I had never heard of Ethan Gilsdorf until I read his essay here. I agree, D&D had a positive influence in my life regardless of my parents’ and brother’s shit talking; those three are what my Japanese friend calls “mainstream,” I’ll let the connotation speak for itself.
The little game from Lake Geneva, WI continues to brighten my days as it did 35 years ago. There was no Internet, video games weren’t very sophisticated or immersive and most computers cost as much as a second-hand car. If you just had the key books, some dice and paper, the possibilities were endless. It helped me make new friends throughout high school be it Houston or “the sticks.” D&D got me through those boring stretches of high school, namely my days in North Dakota where binge drinking and weed smoking were the pinnacle for most residents…and teen pregnancies.
Dungeons & Dragons is more than a game though. It helps with thinking on the fly, creative solutions, theoretical exercises (morality) and interactions. It might have io9.com that published an article about (former) DMs being more mental agile in running a meeting.
Need to put his book on my wishlist. He’s only a year or so older which means certain releases or developments in the game happened around the same age. He also seems to be a pretty nice person.