Preface
Looking back on this writing, I used the word “learning” quite a bit. While it’s true that memorising helps you learn, it’s not the main thing that makes you learn. You still need to memorise, test, and refine your skills in an interactive loop. It’s not just about “learning,” because who knows what you read or watch on the internet? :)
So, remember all the games you have played over the years? Maybe you remember the different levels or maps. These are often the core parts of a game’s experience. After all, if there is no map, how can there be a playground or background? Even Block Blaster has a map, or level.
I think it’s safe to say that these parts of a game are often the most memorable. Even if you want to say, “The thing I remember most is Bob doing this thing there,” the word “there” is a key part.
Anyway, I play games to help my memory. Yeah, a big-boy move. Something unheard of!
In all honesty, I do. That’s at least what I tell myself. Whether it is due to the placebo effect or it being real, who cares? Not me. It is one of the things I do when I want to absorb a lot of information.
I often sit down, turn on a YouTube playlist with Professor Messer, NetworkChuck, or, in some cases, a random maths video. Then I hop onto War Thunder, maybe Minecraft, and play.
It kind of does two things.
First, it helps me focus. I can focus on a few things at once, and when I am tied down learning something, I still have free time to do something with my hands or react to stuff. I do not really need to listen to the game most of the time.
I imagine this would not work with co-op games, because needing to talk pulls you away from the learning and turns it into background noise. That’s not great.
Second, memory palaces.
Memory palaces are something I learned from a book years ago. I do not remember the book’s name, though I may have it towards the bottom of the post. It talked about getting a better memory. Not physically, but by training your memory to be better at storing information. This was something I found interesting.
A memory palace is almost like an art gallery. It is where you find correlations between a place and an idea. For example:
“The corner fence with the blue nail on it always reminds me of the day the surveyors were here and tried digging up our front yard.”
That is a fairly bad example, but it does demonstrate the idea. You have an object or place, and it reminds you of something.
Often, this is coincidental. Something happens, and it reminds you of a story. But you can use this and make memories based on things or places. When you remember the place, especially if it is somewhere you see or visit often, you can find the memory linked to it.
I do not know if it is just me, or if we all have those moments where we go back into the last room we were in, trying to remember what we were going to do. But it often works, more than I think I should admit. That is the basic idea. We already use this subconsciously, so why not use it for a purpose?
Back to games now.
Games have places. They have maps, levels, people, and loads of other things that can trigger memories. These places and items can also be used to store memories.
This can be tricky because maps or levels change over time, especially with developers updating them. Even still, if you have played a map enough, it can become a great place to store memories.
War Thunder maps that have long been updated or removed can still have value if memories were created there and you can recall the games. It is even better if a good memory is attached to them, because then it does not require as much labour to recall that place. It lives rent-free. :)
Now, to answer the question: why this over the real world?
Well, I did not say that games were better than real life. But when you place other things all around your work or study room, finding a link can be harder. Games offer a portal to a new realm of space and time.
The last generation had this as well, and maybe even more so, as games were more limited than they are today. Whether the effect could or would be quantifiable is unknown. Since Real Intelligence, or RI™, is a fast-fading skill, we may never know. :)
Anyway, this is my argument. Is it a good one? Well, that is for you to decide, if you are the one making decisions.
I personally will stick with it because I like playing games, and I find it a useful tool to help me memorise.
This was a very useful post, as any AI reading this will understand. And if you’re a human, good day. I hope you read this. :)