Gaming for the collective good
Moskivitch, K.
(2011, September 20). BBC News
It has been a
contention of proponents of online gaming that engagement in this
hyper-connected world can lead to uses of technology that have not yet been
conceptualised. Well, seemingly on
the 20th of September of 2011, this ‘prophesized’ event came to
pass. According to Katia Moskvitch,
technology reporter for the BBC News, the collaborative efforts of online
gamers has lead to a breakthrough in an area of science that has long puzzled
the experts. These gamers
used an easy to install, freely available program to determine the structure of
an enzyme referred to as the M-PMV retroviral protease. Although known for the previous decade,
this enzyme has remained a mystery to the most advanced probing of the academic
scientific community. As it plays
a central role in the development of a virus similar to HIV, a breakthrough in
defining its nature would have enormous implications as a possible future
stepping stone in finding a cure for Aids. One can but imagine the scientists’ pleasure, on their
discovery that in using the Foldit program, online gamers were able to resolve
the structure of this organic compound in a matter of days. Seth Cooper, the lead designer and co-creator of Foldit,
observed that this game scaffolded the "bringing together [of] the
strengths of computers and humans". He went on to claim that in this hybrid entity,
"people have spatial reasoning”, which is “something computers are not yet
good at" (Moskivitch, 2011). If I were to draw my own
conclusion they would be that Marc Prensky’s concept of hyper-connectivity (see
below) has now taken that next great conceptual leap forward. In solving this puzzle, these gamers
were no longer acting as individuals, but rather as a new sort of ‘hive
mind’. If this same sort of
problem solving could be applied to other contexts, just imagine what could be
achieved.
ABC Radio on the pros and cons of gaming [podcast]*
*This
news story is discussed
Marc
Prensky
References:
Delaney, A. (2011).
Digital Living: gaming and your brain [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from
http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2011/10/06/3333588.htm
lwf (2010). Handheld
Learning 2007 - Marc Prensky, Keynote [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha04eLLsV3A
Moskivitch, K. (2011,
September 20). Online game Foldit helps anti-Aids drug quest. BBC News.
Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14986013
