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<blockquote data-quote="mkletch" data-source="post: 404215" data-attributes="member: 3396">And I would disagree profoundly with this.&nbsp; Anything that causes you to go off and research something, to broaden your horizon even slightly teaches you a lot.&nbsp; Initially learning that you hold the key to your own education is an important lesson that many people unfortunately never learn.&nbsp; After that, every pebble that starts an avalance of learning if really a gem in disguise.&nbsp; Without that little push, you would be now as you were then, and you would never have gotten better.&nbsp; To not credit gaming, or any other stimulus, for driving you to learn, practice, and learn more is to cheapen the experience for yourself and others.If you used D&amp;D to practice probability analysis skills that you had already learned, then you must have started playing pretty late in life.&nbsp; I've been gaming for over 2/3rd of my life, and it has always driven me to learn more, know more, experience more than my peers.&nbsp; I still 'learn stuff' for no other reason than it is fun.&nbsp; I would not be that person now if not for gaming.Who learns organizational skills in 4th grade?&nbsp; The Franklin Covey seminars weren't until 6th grade...Again, it seems like you had a late start.&nbsp; Gaming allows you to experiment with your moral compass when you are just figuring it out.&nbsp; Oh, parents and teachers have some input, but the responsibility is on the individual to accept that instruction, believe it and reinforce it, or tweak it as needed to make life better (or just bearable, if that is an individual's lot).&nbsp; Pushing that responsibility on others is irresponsible, and it's not entirely gracious to squander the effort that those people spent on you.And when you see what 'bad' can do to your friends, and see by experience that 'good' and cooperation make everybody stronger, that is the value of gaming.&nbsp; All of those parents that forbade their kids from playing D&amp;D in the 80's and 90's did more damage than they can possibly comprehend.&nbsp; But that is the risk of being a parent, as well.I think almost anyone would agree with that.&nbsp; Intent is really the key, and if you have no particular intent, that is almost as bad as having evil intent.&nbsp; If you have a goal, you are probably headed on the right path.-Fletch!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="mkletch, post: 404215, member: 3396"] And I would disagree profoundly with this. Anything that causes you to go off and research something, to broaden your horizon even slightly teaches you a lot. Initially learning that you hold the key to your own education is an important lesson that many people unfortunately never learn. After that, every pebble that starts an avalance of learning if really a gem in disguise. Without that little push, you would be now as you were then, and you would never have gotten better. To not credit gaming, or any other stimulus, for driving you to learn, practice, and learn more is to cheapen the experience for yourself and others. If you used D&D to practice probability analysis skills that you had already learned, then you must have started playing pretty late in life. I've been gaming for over 2/3rd of my life, and it has always driven me to learn more, know more, experience more than my peers. I still 'learn stuff' for no other reason than it is fun. I would not be that person now if not for gaming. Who learns organizational skills in 4th grade? The Franklin Covey seminars weren't until 6th grade... Again, it seems like you had a late start. Gaming allows you to experiment with your moral compass when you are just figuring it out. Oh, parents and teachers have some input, but the responsibility is on the individual to accept that instruction, believe it and reinforce it, or tweak it as needed to make life better (or just bearable, if that is an individual's lot). Pushing that responsibility on others is irresponsible, and it's not entirely gracious to squander the effort that those people spent on you. And when you see what 'bad' can do to your friends, and see by experience that 'good' and cooperation make everybody stronger, [b]that[/b] is the value of gaming. All of those parents that forbade their kids from playing D&D in the 80's and 90's did more damage than they can possibly comprehend. But that is the risk of being a parent, as well. I think almost anyone would agree with that. Intent is really the key, and if you have no particular intent, that is almost as bad as having evil intent. If you have a goal, you are probably headed on the right path. -Fletch! [/QUOTE]

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