Have you heard about the idea of gamification? It’s the idea that turning everyday tasks into games will not only make the task more enjoyable but will also improve the quality of the task being completed.
It’s a very intriguing idea and a perfect example of it is a speeding camera that was invented that not only tracked the cars that were speeding but also those that were going at the correct speed. All the cars going at the correct speed were entered into a lottery to win the money from all speeders caught in a month.
Now how’s that for an idea of the year?
The premise is simple though, reward people for doing the tasks they are doing anyway and that will make them ensure they do the task properly. Want them to do even better then reward them for doing it perfectly. Just like in any game out there.
This idea of gamification is sweeping the corporate world at the moment and according to Gabe Zicherman it’s not only very effective but it’s also a trend that’s making the current generation of kids smarter and faster.
At no time in history has more of our youth been actively participating in games and in the eye’s of Gabe there is a direct correlation between the rise of ADHD cases and playing games. Yet it’s not a bad thing, if an ADHD kid can sit and grind at Skyrim for 10 hours straight he has no attention deficit disorder. When he freaks out in normal school it’s because the school isn’t teaching him fast enough or rewarding him appropriately for the level of effort required.
We don’t need to drug our kids down to the level that we and are parents learnt at what we really need is for our schools and companies to step up to the higher level that these ADHD people are working at.
It’s an incredibly interesting concept that obviously needs to be validated appropriately but I can tell you from personal experience that I seriously struggle to only do one thing at a time and that I can quite easily complete two tasks simultaneously, which I’ve been told my entire life is impossible and am still told to this day, while I’m doing them, it’s not possible.
It is possible and a lot of gamers already know how to organise a squad, defend a corner and plan our attack depending on what we can see on the mini-map all at once.
This basic example of multi-tasking could be making us smarter… don’t believe me? Then watch this video and I promise you’ll struggle to keep your old mentality at the end.
Last Updated: November 22, 2011
