(no subject)
It's difficult to figure out where to start. Thinking of the geometry puzzle, we recently went through a series of difficult problems in my psychology research class which were similar to puzzles and entirely about critical thinking. Our professor sent us this link and asked us to figure it out. It's not that hard, but fun nonetheless and seems relevant to the kind of critical thinking that allowed the class to figure out the right triangle in class. That said, it is the ability to think critically that I feel I have gotten the most out of during my college career.
In response to WoW, I think I was in the minority of classmates who didn't know much of what was going on. Later that night, when I brought the topic up at dinner, I had one friend who said he had to quit after the 10 day trial because it was so addicting, and one friend who said she's wary of those kinds of games and the escape from reality they provide. She then went on to talk about how much she enjoys playing the Sims. The point is, as skeptic I or anyone else is about these games, you can't really make that judgement without trying it yourself. When it comes down to it, I think few people would be immune to the addictiveness of these sorts of games. The difference lies in the type of people who make the choice to begin playing them, I'd say.
Vanessa compared WoW and VR games to reading science fiction, saying that they are both addictive, and I disagree with her on the addictive part of that. Although reading does provide an escape, it is a much more passive and presumably less time consuming activity. Also, while it is possible to find a book that is difficult to put down, I have never found myself addicted to a book in the same way that I might be to a video game. There's something about wanting to advance, continue, and improve, that is not found in novels. I also disagreed with Vanessa's question asking how us playing VR games is any different from the virtual lives or backing up of souls that occurs in Look to Windward. The difference is, Look to Windward is fiction. You really can't justify your actions (and I'm not saying you need to) based on a fictional society. The comparison needs to be made to the real world, and I cannot think of anything similarj in the real world.