Tabletop Gaming and Intellectual Conceit

RPGs are games of What Ifs based on literature and often include the memorization of great amounts of complex rules and complex tactical thinking.

That is very highly indicativ of being something that predominantly attracts people who tend to be on the smarter side. It's math and bookkeeping, for entertainment! ^^

I would be amazed to see any survey done that concludes that people who play the games do not meaningfully differ from the general population.



I would always have said "Int 10, Wis 14" when asked, since I suck at calculations and equations. But a recent pychiatric examination turned out that I'd actually be "Int 17" in a 3d6 distribution.

Russ, you've been to Gen Con. You know there are total troglodytes out there. I mean, other hobbies have their own forms of trashy human beings who are a pain to be around, but ours somehow are more memorable.

If I had to guess, I think (if we're using D&D terms) that my INT would be around average. If I had to guess, I might have pretty good WIS and CHA.

I wouldn't say I have much of a formal education. I'm not a physicist or engineer or anything like that, but I would say that I seem to have spent a little more time educating myself via reading and research than most of the non-gamer people I know. I do have college experience, but I was a gamer long before I ever took college courses, so I do not feel the two have much of anything to do with each other.

I played sports in high school. Afterwards I joined the military; I had planned to make a career of it until being wounded meant I had to get out. Overall, I'd venture to say I'm more athletic than intelligent. I've often made the comment to people I know that I'm just smart enough to realize that I can be stupid.

Doing research on obscure things just out of curiosity and desire to figure out how things work and why they are as they are is probably the strongest indicator of meaningfully above average intelligence. Most people just accept that those people who need to know these things do know these things. There's no point in understanding how a rocket engine works if you are not a rocket engineer, and no point in understanding how the electricity of lightning got inside the clouds unless you are developing lightning rods.

RangerWickett said:

Russ, you've been to Gen Con. You know there are total troglodytes out there. I mean, other hobbies have their own forms of trashy human beings who are a pain to be around, but ours somehow are more memorable.

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Nonsense. I've met dozens of charming, attractive gamers at Gen Con. I've also met what you label 'troglodytes' at the supermarket, at football matches, at the bus stop, in nightclubs.

Perpetuating this stereotype is a disservice. It's not true.

Morrus said:

I disagree with this completely and utterly. Lack empathy? Really? You're implying that gamers tend to be sociopaths?

The gamers I know (I'm the exception...) are successful, likeable, friendly people with families and friends. They have a wide range of careers and interests outside gaming. They are, frankly, perfectly nice, ordinary people.

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I know that there are decent people who happen to be gamers out there. I know a few of them. My current group is made up of EXCELLENT human beings and I value them greatly.

That being said every time I've had to look to put a group together it's a nightmare. Either people have no respect for other people's time, not socially adjusted and or worse.

I also take into account actions performed IN game as well. It's probably not fair to do so but unfettered by conscious or ramifications most gamers would commit the worse type of bullying, harassment and murder at the drop of a hat. I'm sorry but roleplaying only goes so far and when it comes to that gamers are some of the most bloodthirsty and utterly sociopathic people that I know. Keep in mind I'm not talking about just them killing obvious enemies in combat, I'm talking civilians, presumably helpful NPC's, kids, animals.

Yes, I'm well aware that I'm talking about an imaginary game with imaginary characters and imaginary creatures. But we're also talking about people acting out their worst impulses in this imaginary settings. I did this too, when I was like, 15, 16 years old. But then I grew up and even when I played I viewed my surroundings and people as I would If they were people and not things to kill for XP.

Most gamers that I've run into, even when playing obviously "heroic" characters really dont let that part, the empathy, filter in. And if it's a consistent enough pattern then it's not the role or the character it's the player(s).

You may disagree with the criteria but I've been playing and DMing long enough to see this sort of thing consistently. Enough where it's started to bother me of the past 10 years or so. So much so where I'm pretty selective about who I play with and run games for. I dont know about the UK in here in the states we really do have enough of the "dark loner" types and I'm sick of these people who see themselves an amalgam of their favorite sociopathic characters from books, movies and TV.

Morrus said:

The gamers I know (I'm the exception...) are successful, likeable, friendly people with families and friends. They have a wide range of careers and interests outside gaming. They are, frankly, perfectly nice, ordinary people.

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Also, and I really have to address this, there are people out in the world right now as we speak who have families and friends. Who have careers and interests outside of gaming and are perfectly nice.

And who are STILL sociopaths.

The above things and being a sociopath are NOT mutually exclusive.

I think we need to write for a federal grant and conduct a scientific survey!

Maybe we can be the first RPG website to be published in a scientific journal?

ShinHakkaider said:

Also, and I really have to address this, there are people out in the world right now as we speak who have families and friends. Who have careers and interests outside of gaming and are perfectly nice.

And who are STILL sociopaths.

The above things and being a sociopath are NOT mutually exclusive.

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I categorically reject your assertion that most gamers are sociopaths.

ShinHakkaider said:

Also, and I really have to address this, there are people out in the world right now as we speak who have families and friends. Who have careers and interests outside of gaming and are perfectly nice.

And who are STILL sociopaths.

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I think not. "Perfectly nice" and "sociopath" are mutually exclusive.

Sociopaths will *seem* nice, for a while. But the truth outs, and then they aren't nice at all...