http://www.theschooloflife.com/Sermons/Jane-McGonigal-on-Productivity

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London
Sunday 24 October 2010
11.30 – 12.45

Collectively, the human population spends 3 billion hours a week playing computer and videogames. Is this a colossal waste of human resources – or, in those 3 billion hours a week, are we actually being extraordinarily productive?

Jane McGonigal will take to our pulpit to challenge our assumptions about games as ways to “pass” or “waste” our time – and argue instead that we are never more productive than when we are immersed in a good game.

What, exactly, do we produce when we play a good game? Positive emotions – like optimism, curiosity and wonder; collective intelligence; and a stronger social fabric.

In this sermon, Jane will urge all of us to become more productive of what really matters in life – happiness, resilience, and meaning — by spending more of our time playing bigger and better games.

Jane McGonigal is a game designer based in San Francisco, California. She is the director of game research and development at the Institute for the Future and author of Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World.