Jane McGonigal. Did she make a good argument?

In Dr. Jane McGonigal’s video “Gaming Can Make a Better World” she makes the argument about how people can change the world by playing video games. She makes a couple valid points to back up her thoughts. One of her first arguments is saying that the only way we’re going to survive the next century on this planet is to increase the amount of game play from 3 billion hours to 21 billion hours. In doing this she believes we will help solve problems such as hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict, and obesity. She believes if we can get people to save the real world like they do in game world then we could really make a difference. She shows a picture taken by Phil Tildano of a boy whose face shows some fear, excitement, anxiousness, and deep concentration. McGonigal calls this the face of an epic win. Stating that an epic win is an outcome in which they had no idea was possible until they achieve it. She wants to see this face on problem solvers around the world while trying to solve world problems. But unfortunately the face we make as problem solvers is the “I’m not good at life face” basically lowering our self-confidence and motivation to solve problems. One of my favorite arguments is about how ancient historian Herodotus wrote about a kingdom in Lidia and how they invented ancient dice made from sheep knuckles and that is where the first dice games were invented and played. The kingdom of Lidia was in such a horrible famine so the king set up a policy that one-day they would eat and then the next day they would play games - in order to get their minds off of the fact that they had no food. McGonigal believes that this is how we use games today too. She feels that we play games to escape real world suffering and everything not satisfying about real life. I cannot say I fully agree with Jane McGonigal because I do not personally play enough video games to know if we could change the world, but I can say that she has some very convincing arguments. I believe that if she really got out there and tested the games she made and spoke more on her thoughts she could really make a huge difference. Who knows, maybe she’s got the right idea and we all need to open our minds and see what could come out of it.

Writers on Writing Precis

In Writers on Writing (2000) author Kent Haruf claims that all writers have their own habits when writing. He says that sometimes they are very weird yet interesting. He gives examples of habits of a few famous authors like for instance John Cheever who wrote some of his stories in just his underwear. In order to prove this point to his audience he shares that personally he writes his first draft blind. He does this to add spontaneity to his writing and get everything out with out worrying about errors. The author intended this article for all writers. 

Chapter One Precis

In Chapter One of Choices 2.0 (2010) author Joe Marshall Hardin suggests that writers should use the “writing process” to organize their writing and he also talks about the rhetoric. He explains that using the writing process is a helpful way in keeping up your writing. He also tells about the history of Aristotle’s triangle model process for speeches and how it’s been helpful even to this day for writers to use. The triangle helps in perceiving and perfecting your writing but in order to do that you have to see the text not only from your point of view but the readers too. I believe this chapter is intended for college students and beginning writers to aid in their writing troubles.  

Introduction Precis

In the introduction to Choices 2.0 (2010) author Joe Marshall Hardin argues that anyone can become a successful writer. He believes that even though you may not have a lot of talent in that area, that does not mean you cannot write successfully. Hardin explains that in order to become a successful writer you have to look at the key aspects in writing. Those aspects include organization, grammar, and revision by not only yourself but your peers as well. It appears that Joe Marshall Hardin wrote this book for college students but I believe you can apply it to anyone that needs help with getting started with their writing. Hardin’s use of language in Choices 2.0 (2010) makes it simple for anyone in need of assistance with his or her writing. His use of organization and simplicity to get his point across definitely help with the use of this book.

Intro to my blog.

I've never had a blog before so this should be interesting. I'm excited to get started! (: