It's hard to say what's better or worse IMO. I think its obvious that, say, reading, playing sports and playing SC2 are all good for kids, but it's hard to know the right amounts. For example, maybe playing SC2 is better than the sixth reading of Harry Potter, but what about the first, or second reading? Will someone get more out of being competitive at an SC2 tournament, or a tennis tournament?
In my opinion SC2 isn't outright better than any of those things, but it would be a cool way to spend your free time as a kid.
edit: kids have a lot of free time though, haha
It's the mix that matters, as you say.
My point is that every parent I know would have no problem forcing their kids to go run around outside, or practice piano, or read a book, but none of them would insist that their children play a video game.
While the forum seems to have your attention Dr., would you mind explaining a bit what you think separates the very top players from one another? My uneducated view is that 'talent' plays a role mostly in the very lowest and very highest extremes of the skill range. I'm sure you've heard this before, so I won't go into detail, but do you think 'talent' separates the very top, or do they maybe practice more/better?
It's hard to say what's better or worse IMO. I think its obvious that, say, reading, playing sports and playing SC2 are all good for kids, but it's hard to know the right amounts. For example, maybe playing SC2 is better than the sixth reading of Harry Potter, but what about the first, or second reading? Will someone get more out of being competitive at an SC2 tournament, or a tennis tournament?
In my opinion SC2 isn't outright better than any of those things, but it would be a cool way to spend your free time as a kid.
edit: kids have a lot of free time though, haha
It's the mix that matters, as you say.
My point is that every parent I know would have no problem forcing their kids to go run around outside, or practice piano, or read a book, but none of them would insist that their children play a video game.
While the forum seems to have your attention Dr., would you mind explaining a bit what you think separates the very top players from one another? My uneducated view is that 'talent' plays a role mostly in the very lowest and very highest extremes of the skill range. I'm sure you've heard this before, so I won't go into detail, but do you think 'talent' separates the very top, or do they maybe practice more/better?
oh btw my parents encourage me to play more sc2 at the age of 20 T.T because they know i dont study well .. and i am in a city college T.T so i m trying to become pro
A very interesting study indeed! I'll be eagerly awaiting your results, and I hope that the study will be published someplace I can find it.
I'm interested in how you define expertise, and I'm a bit skeptical about all of the benefits you claim Starcraft has, enough so that I won't be actively encouraging my kids to skip violin practice to analyze IdrA's latest replays.
That said, I would be a liar if I said I didn't love SC2 (and SC:BW, my original love) and if it turns out to be truly beneficial, then who am I to gainsay it?
One comment I'd like to make is that many people watch professionals play sc2 not just for entertainment but for the educational experience too. Perhaps it couldn't hurt to document how much time people spend watching sc2 also.
On September 12 2011 14:42 CrushDog5 wrote: Why aren’t parents bugging their kids to memorize TvT builds, or practice their 4-gate, or watch replays from their mandatory daily laddering session, or write an essay about how they can improve their game?
Because not every parent is Day[9] :
And to the OP as well: I live in Burnaby, BC and I plan on attending SFU next year... I would love to participate if I could!
EPT
