Gamers Are Now Helping to Solve Scientific Problems
So it seems the science community at large has been dwindling in numbers. There simply are not enough scientists to take on the massive task of saving the world from humanity’s various bungles.
Like Garbage Island. Seriously.
Oh, certainly, they all KNOW what needs to be done, but without tons of manpower it’s an incredibly slow process to research anything. If only scientists had access to a large population with addictive personalities willing to do hours of tedius pattern searching and problem solving.
Oh wait, they totally do. The entire gaming community.
Yes, even that one.
Recently scientists, in collaboration with game designers, have released a wave of online games whose sole purpose is to gather research and help solve science’s biggest problems. For instance, Foldit, a game focusing on protein folding, allowed players to figure out how to resolve an enzyme that causes AIDs in monkeys within a matter of weeks.
At first it might seem odd that anyone would think to try out online games as a scientific method, but really to me it’s a wonder they didn’t think of it sooner. Both scientists and gamers use the same sort of problem solving techniques whether it’s approaching a DNA sequence or a Bejeweled puzzle. Heck, I’ve been using my Myst skills to fix the office photocopier for years.
This has become my Everest.
What makes this news really exciting though is not just the possibilities open for the scientific community, but the fact that this is a very large stepping stone in the “Games should be taken seriously” argument that has been raging since games came into existence. And so far, the collaboration is working fantastically. Solutions that had been taking years to figure out are now in some cases being solved in a matter of weeks.
It also helps, of course, that the games are fun and addictive. Check some of them out. If anything, the next time someone yells at you for playing casual games on your phone you can sincerely say you’re helping to save the world. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some whale song to interpret.
