I’m also not a gamer, meaning I’ve never been one to really
enjoy video games. Gamers are serious video game players. They play online.
They play in tournaments. They obsess about their scores.
We’ve always tried to be balanced with the amount of time
the boys spend in playing video games. We didn’t want them to be glued to the
computer or TV screen, but we also didn’t want to take something away entirely
and therefore make it incredibly attractive. There are limits on the level of violence of their games and
the amount of time they spend playing them. We’re a competitive family and
there is no need in becoming completely wrapped up in that false reality.
A month ago the news was sharing the story of a group of
gamers and their success in decoding an AIDS protein that had stumped
researchers for over 15 years. These video game players set about studying
these complex structures, trying to unravel the puzzle and they completed it
within the “game's” allotted three weeks timeframe. In fact, an update to the
story I read stated that the protein decoding was done in just 10 days!
The gamers were participating in Fold.it where participants
mapped out the protein structure competing for points allotted to the
individuals with the better models. On
this particular puzzle, the results were published in the journal Nature.
Fold.it was started in 2008 and has close to 250,000 players.
Just for kicks I visited the site. “Whoa baby” as my friend
Coach Stuart would say, there were some seriously smart people involved in
building the site and “playing” on it.
To borrow another Coach Stuart euphemism, “the math gods are happy” and
smiling upon this online site.
Fold.it is the brainchild of researchers at the University
of Washington. It shows great promise offering insights into various scientific
arenas. It’s given me a new respect for video games, gamers, and the competitive
spirit. I’ll probably look the other way
the next time the boys head toward the game console.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment