The Right Amount of "Challenge" In IT & Gaming 103
boyko.at.netqos writes "In an essay entitled 'An Epiphany I Had While Playing Pac-Man,' the author talks about how smart people need to find a certain amount of intellectual challenge from day to day. If they don't find it in their workplace, they'll end up playing complex, 'smart' games, like Civilization IV or Chess — and if they do find it in their workplace, they're more likely to sit down with a nice game of Pac-Man, Katamari Damacy, or Peggle. Quoting: 'When I look back on my life, and I compare the times in my life when I was playing simple games compared to the times in my life when I was playing complex ones, a pattern emerges. The more complexity and mental stimulation I was getting from other activities — usually my day job at the time — the less I needed mental stimulation in my free time. Conversely, in times when I was working boring jobs, I'd be playing games that required a lot of thinking and mental gymnastics.' The author then goes on to speculate that some IT workers might subconsciously be giving themselves more challenges by choosing to deal with difficult problems, rather than performing simple (but boring) preventative maintenance and proactive network management."
This just in! (Score:3, Funny)
I play games because they're fun.
An epiphany had when playing Pac-Man and.... (Score:5, Funny)
Not classifiable (Score:3, Funny)
...the author talks about how smart people need to find a certain amount of intellectual challenge from day to day. If they don't find it in their workplace, they'll end up playing complex, 'smart' games, like Civilization IV or Chess
Well, I always try to find challenging games during work hours, so I don't think I classify in either category.
Re:Also, when you don't find... (Score:5, Funny)
Now, we just need to find an online activity that balances cuddling and sex.
I'd say 'posting in /.', but it's more of a replacement.
Re:Smart People not So Smart (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Also, when you don't find... (Score:2, Funny)
Not necessarily. I have an intellectually stimulating job (which I love) but upon reading the shit I post, most people would think I worked at an abattoir slaughtering pigs all day.
Re:Not really so (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, wife won't let me spend any time at all with my gf's. Weird!
Re:Not really so (Score:3, Funny)
In practice, you sit down to play "for an hour", and next thing you know the sun's coming up.
No way, Dude. You're looking out the wrong window for that. The freaking Carthaginians were still around when the sun was coming up. It's on its way down again ;-)