Gaming vs Science

So in my spare time I’m a sad gaming addict. Always have been and I think that’s unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Over time, my gaming has gone through an evolution from old school pen and paper role playing games like D&D, Runequest, Call of Cthulhu; to board games such as World in Flames and Empires in Arms; to computer strategy games like Civilization, Age of Empires, Starcraft; to massive multiplayer online time sinks like Everquest, World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings Online. Currently I’m playing on the Xbox Kinect mostly- Skyrim, LA Noire, Fitness Evolved, and waiting for Mass Effect 3 to come out.

At times, for instance when I was a raid leader in Everquest or in the top raiding guild of my server in WoW, I think its undoubtedly true that my gaming hobby absorbed far more hours of my life than science did. In my very rare reflective moments, I wonder if I’d spent less time gaming would I have significantly more scientific output? (Would I have double the number of publications?) On the other hand, has my gaming addiction aided my scientific career in any way? I definitely believe my strategy gaming experience helps me in gaming whatever byzantine systems the university adopts. And I’m sure playing role playing games in my youth helped my confidence as a public speaker. I’m less convinced that my experience as a raid leader in EQ has had any noticeable benefit towards managing my research group, although I guess both experiences are pretty much akin to herding cats.

I know a variety of my colleagues are also gamers (Derek and Uwe, you know who you are!); I’m wondering how other researchers are addicted gamers and whether that’s been a positive or negative influence on your careers?

Old School WoW and EQ