Open Ended vs Close Ended Problem Solving | Episode 011 Video Game Addiction
Summary
TLDRThe video script explores how gaming shapes individuals, particularly in problem-solving skills. It distinguishes between 'closed-ended' and 'open-ended' problem solving, highlighting that gamers excel at the former due to the structured nature of games. However, this proficiency can hinder their ability to tackle real-world challenges, which often lack clear rules and objectives. The speaker suggests that open-ended problem-solving is a skill that can be learned, contrary to common misconceptions about gamers' motivation or intelligence. The script also hints at a comparison with doctors, who similarly struggle with open-ended problems, emphasizing that this skill is independent of one's professional acumen.
Takeaways
- 🧠 Experiences shape us: Our brain learns from our experiences and changes how we interact with the world.
- 🎮 Gaming shapes problem-solving skills: Gamers become adept at closed-ended problem solving, which is limited by the rules and objectives of the game.
- 🔍 Different problem-solving types: The script distinguishes between 'closed-ended' and 'open-ended' problem solving, with gamers often excelling in the former but struggling with the latter.
- 🤔 Gamers' challenge with open-ended problems: Gamers may find it difficult to solve problems without clear rules or objectives, such as achieving financial independence or finding a partner.
- 🏥 Real-world application: Gamers' problem-solving skills were demonstrated in a Harvard Business School case study, where they provided optimal solutions for optimizing a urology office's workflow.
- 🛠️ Optimizing solutions: Gamers are good at finding the most efficient way to achieve a set goal within a defined set of rules or tools.
- 🚫 Limitations of gaming: The script suggests that extensive gaming might hinder the development of skills needed for open-ended problem solving.
- 💡 Learning from gaming: The ability to solve closed-ended problems is a valuable skill that can be applied in various professional fields, such as consulting.
- 🔑 Operationalizing problems: The process of breaking down abstract problems into manageable steps or operations is key to solving open-ended problems.
- 👶 Developing problem-solving skills: Just as a child learns to clean their room by breaking the task into smaller steps, gamers can learn to tackle open-ended problems by operationalizing them.
- 🧐 Underdeveloped planning skills: The script implies that the frontal lobes responsible for planning and executing actions might be underdeveloped in gamers due to the structured nature of video games.
Q & A
How do our experiences shape us according to the speaker?
-The speaker suggests that our experiences shape us by being planted in our brain, from which our brain learns and changes the way we interact with the world.
Why is it important for gamers to understand the impact of playing games on their problem-solving abilities?
-It is important for gamers to understand this impact because playing games can make them proficient in closed-ended problem solving but potentially less adept at open-ended problem solving, which is crucial for various life challenges.
What is the difference between closed-ended and open-ended problem solving as described in the script?
-Closed-ended problem solving occurs within a defined set of rules and tools to achieve a specific goal, as seen in games. Open-ended problem solving, on the other hand, involves dealing with abstract and broad goals without a clear set of tools or end goals, such as achieving financial independence.
Can you provide an example of how gamers' problem-solving skills were applied outside of gaming, as mentioned in the script?
-An example given in the script is when the speaker's gamer friends provided optimal solutions for optimizing patient flow in a urology office, a scenario from a Harvard Business School case study.
What challenges do gamers face when dealing with open-ended problems according to the speaker?
-Gamers face challenges with open-ended problems because they struggle with abstract concepts that do not have a clear set of tools or end goals, unlike the structured problems found in games.
What is the term used by the speaker to describe the process of breaking down an abstract problem into actionable steps?
-The speaker uses the term 'operationalizing' to describe this process.
How can operationalizing help in addressing open-ended problems?
-Operationalizing helps by transforming an abstract problem into a series of manageable steps or smaller problems, making it easier to move from point A to point Z.
Why might gamers feel unmotivated or lazy when it comes to addressing certain life challenges?
-The speaker suggests that gamers might feel this way not due to a lack of motivation, but because their brains have not been trained to operationalize or break down certain life challenges into actionable steps.
What is the role of video games in operationalizing problems for gamers?
-Video games operationalize problems by providing a clear set of rules, tools, and levels, so gamers do not need to figure out the steps themselves, leading to underdeveloped planning skills in some areas of life.
Can the skill of open-ended problem solving be taught or learned according to the speaker?
-Yes, the speaker believes that open-ended problem-solving is a skill set that can be learned and taught, contrary to being an innate ability or related to intelligence or motivation.
What is an example of an open-ended problem that the speaker discusses in the script?
-An example of an open-ended problem discussed in the script is achieving financial independence, which involves various abstract steps and decisions rather than a clear, set path.
Outlines
🎮 The Impact of Gaming on Problem-Solving Skills
This paragraph discusses the profound influence of gaming on an individual's cognitive development, particularly in problem-solving. It emphasizes that gaming can shape a person's approach to problem-solving by teaching them to excel in 'closed-ended' problems—those with defined goals and tools. The speaker uses the example of a Harvard Business School case study to illustrate how gamers can effectively apply their in-game problem-solving skills to real-world scenarios, such as optimizing operations in a medical office. However, the paragraph also highlights a potential downside: gamers may struggle with 'open-ended' problems that lack clear objectives or tools, suggesting an imbalance in their problem-solving abilities.
🧩 The Challenge of Open-Ended Problem Solving for Gamers
The second paragraph delves into the difficulties gamers face with 'open-ended' problems, which are not confined by the structured rules and objectives typical of video games. It contrasts the structured environment of gaming with the abstract challenges of real life, such as achieving financial independence or finding a romantic partner. The speaker suggests that gamers' proficiency in closed-ended problem solving comes at the expense of their ability to tackle open-ended problems, which require a different skill set. The paragraph also introduces the concept of 'operationalizing' problems, which involves breaking down abstract goals into manageable steps, a skill that gamers may not have developed due to the way video games inherently structure problem-solving for players.
🛠 Operationalizing Abstract Problems for Gamers
In the final paragraph, the speaker addresses the issue of how gamers can overcome their struggle with open-ended problems by learning to operationalize them. It suggests that by transforming abstract goals into a series of concrete steps, gamers can leverage their analytical skills more effectively. The paragraph draws a parallel between teaching a child to clean their room and teaching gamers to break down complex life goals into actionable parts. It also touches on the idea that the frontal lobes, responsible for planning and executing actions, may be underdeveloped in gamers due to the way video games pre-structure problem-solving, leading to a reliance on the game's framework rather than developing independent problem-solving strategies.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Experience
💡Gamers
💡Problem Solving
💡Closed-Ended Problem Solving
💡Open-Ended Problem Solving
💡Optimization
💡Operationalizing
💡Abstraction
💡Frontal Lobes
💡Financial Independence
Highlights
Playing games shapes individuals by influencing their problem-solving skills.
Gamers excel at closed-ended problem solving, which involves a specific objective and set of tools.
Gamers often struggle with open-ended problem solving, which lacks a defined goal or toolset.
Games provide a sandbox within which gamers can optimize solutions, unlike real-world scenarios.
Gamers' ability to solve closed-ended problems was demonstrated in a Harvard Business School case study.
Gamers' problem-solving skills can translate to real-world applications, such as consulting.
The challenge for gamers is adapting their skills to open-ended problems, such as achieving financial independence.
Gamers may struggle with abstract goals that do not have clear steps or tools, unlike in games.
Operationalizing is the process of breaking down abstract problems into actionable steps.
Gamers' brains may be less adept at operationalizing problems due to the structured nature of games.
The frontal lobes, responsible for planning and executing actions, may be underdeveloped in gamers due to the game's guidance.
Gamers can learn to operationalize open-ended problems, transforming them into closed-ended problems.
Teaching operationalizing skills can help gamers tackle real-world challenges more effectively.
The distinction between closed-ended and open-ended problem solving is crucial for understanding gamers' capabilities.
Gamers' success in structured problem solving can be leveraged to improve their approach to unstructured problems.
The speaker suggests that gamers' challenges with open-ended problems are not due to laziness but a lack of training in operationalizing.
Comparing gamers to other professionals, such as doctors, shows that open-ended problem solving is a skill that can be learned.
Transcripts
one of the things that it's really
important to understand is that
everything that we do in life shapes us
in some way our experiences get planted
in our brain and then our brain learns
from them and changes the way that we
interact with the world so one of the
things that it's really important for
gamers to understand is how does playing
games shape the person that you are what
is playing games teach your brain and
then how does your brain use that
information or that knowledge from
playing games and approach the real
world so one of the things that I think
it's really important for gamers to
understand is that they're very good
closed-ended problem solvers and I think
this is a big problem for a lot of
gamers is that they're good at a certain
kind of problem solving but playing a
lot of games actually puts them in the
direction or makes them better at a
certain kind of problem solving and
actually makes them worse at a different
kind of problem solving which I call
open-ended problem solving so I guess
the first question is what do I mean by
closed-ended problem solving an
open-ended problem solving so let's
think a little bit about what happens
within a game in a game we have a
particular objective and we're given a
set of tools or assets like you have a
character a character has certain kinds
of abilities or if you're playing
something like an RPG you have a team of
characters if you're playing like a
sport a game like NHL or a football game
or something like that you've got a team
of different assets and you have to
figure out how to use that team of
people or that group of assets to
accomplish a certain objective if you
think about a game there's a particular
goal and you're sort of given a
particular set of rules and you have to
use that set of rules to achieve that
goal if you're playing Mario for example
you can't open a lemonade stand it's
just not something that you can do in
the game if you're playing World of
Warcraft you can't build a spaceship
there are certain limits that the game
provides us with and gamers are really
good at coming up with an optimal
solution
if they're given a particular sandbox to
work in so I'll give you guys a prime
example about a year ago I was taking
this class at Harvard Business School
called value-based healthcare this was a
class that was for a bunch of physicians
who were sort of trying to learn the
business side of medicine and in this
class we did these cases so with what
happens in the classes they give you
like this twenty or thirty page case in
this case was about optimizing flow
through our urology office so when a
patient goes to you see a urologist they
get checked in by the receptionist they
have to fill in some paperwork they get
taken to a room they see a nurse for a
little while and then the doctor comes
in the doctor does a procedure and then
the patient like kind of goes to a
different room where do they get
monitored for a little while and then
they get checked out by the receptionist
they pay their bill and they leave so
there's a certain flow through the
office in this case was all about how
can we optimize the flow through the
office to sort of create the most value
and how can we sort of make it so that
we're getting the most bang out of our
buck and so one of the things that I was
kind of surprised about is I was working
with a couple of gamers at the time and
I actually sort of told them about the
case and I said so here's the scenario
we've got this urologist office we have
three urologists we've got five nurses
we've got two receptionists how can you
optimize this the flow through the
office so that the most patients get
seen in the shortest amount of time and
in my gamer friends that I was kind of
talking about this with came up with a
couple of solutions and then I went into
class the next day and when people were
asking about you know how you go about
doing things I offered those solutions
and it turned out that those were some
of the best solutions in the class I was
a little bit surprised by this because
here's a group of people and this this
class was offered for only it was at
Harvard Business School and offered to
Harvard physician trainees so arguably
some of the brightest people in the
country and how is it that a group of
gamers who know nothing about neurology
and nothing about medicine were able to
come up with optimal solutions when they
really don't know anything about the
scenario and it's
cuz games teach gamers how to do this
kind of closed ended problem solving
this problem solving where you have a
particular goal and a particular set of
tools and gamers are really good at
optimizing from A to Z and that's
something that they're good at
in other situations too for example some
of the gamers that I talk to are really
good at things like consulting or
they're the people in their offices that
people that-that their bosses go to when
there's a problem because they're
recognized for their problem-solving
capability the problem though for a lot
of you guys is that a lot of the
problems a lot of those challenges that
gamers suffer from are not closed-ended
problems they're what I call open-ended
problems open-ended problems or problems
that don't really have a particular
sandbox so an example of an open-ended
problem is like gaining financial
independence what does that really mean
like how do you get financial
independence well it may involve certain
pieces like finding a job or moving out
of your parents place or things like
that but gamers really struggle with any
kind of problem that doesn't have a
particular set of tools or a particular
end goal they struggle with things that
are really abstract and that's if you
think about it a lot of the things that
you're able to do in life if someone can
give you a particular goal and give you
a set of tools you're actually probably
you're going to be able to get from
point A to point Z when gamers run into
difficulty it's because they don't
really know where point Z is they have
trouble with sort of this abstract idea
of financial independence because those
kind of abstractions don't exist within
games and when our brain spends a lot of
time playing a game it starts to
optimize working within that kind of
framework within a closed-ended
framework so a lot of the problems that
gamers have tend to be things like
gaining financial independence finding a
girlfriend getting in shape these are
all sort of broad abstract things that
gamers have a lot of trouble actually
executing
the funny thing about this is that you
may think that that's because gamers are
not motivated or they'll say things like
I'm lazy or I'm not motivated but the
more that I've worked with gamers the
more that I realized that open-ended
problem-solving is actually a skill set
that can be learned and that can be
taught and that because gamers spend so
much time playing video games they
actually lose out on the opportunities
to learn this kind of problem solving
I'll give you guys an example so if I
tell a four-year-old to clean their room
that's kind of like an abstract goal you
we can all it's simple for us because we
know what a clean room looks like but a
four-year-old has a lot of trouble
taking that abstract concept of a clean
room which even though they understand
what a clean room looks like they have
trouble actually figuring out how to get
from point A to point Z they can tell
the difference between a clean room in a
dirty room they just don't know how to
move from one to the other so what you
have to do with a four-year-old is you
have to tell them okay let's clean the
room together so let's take all of your
books and put them together and put them
on the bookshelf let's take two all your
stuffed animals and put them in the
stuffed animal box and let's take all
your crayons and your papers and put
them in your desk drawer you have to
actually walk them through the steps of
creating a clean room they can't do that
kind of they can't take the abstract
problem and break it down into pieces
and that breaking down into pieces is
what what I call operationalizing so
it's the the process of taking an
abstract problem and creating an
operation of moving from point A to Z so
for example if we wanted to
operationalize like let's say financial
independence we start to break that
process down so financial independence
involves having a bank account where you
can pay rent and having a place to live
and so what we can do is break that down
into two pieces and then those two can
be further operationalized so finding a
place to live involves looking it for
places to live first and then making
decisions like do I want a roommate do I
not want a room
do I want to live downtown or do I want
to live in the suburbs there are a lot
of different pieces to each of those
things and as we break down financial
independence into lots of different
pieces that's the process of
operationalizing when we're talking
about the four year old when we help
them what we actually do is
operationalize the problem for them and
the reason that gamers have trouble the
reason that you guys have problems is
because if you think about it video
games actually do all of the
operationalizing for you they've figured
out what all of the pieces are and so
gamers are really good at putting the
pieces together but they're they really
struggle with figuring out what the
pieces are so a lot of the problems that
gamers have are you know they think that
it lazy and that's the reason that they
don't get a job but the more that I've
worked with you guys the more that I
realized your brain actually has not
been able to operationalize that problem
for you and since you can't
operationalize it you kind of don't know
where to start so I could ask you like
how do you find a job and you could tell
me a couple of things but even though
you're able to rationally understand
that there's a part of your brain called
your frontal lobes which does your
planning which is the part of your brain
that lets you plan and execute actions
which actually gamers have frontal lobes
that are sort of underdeveloped and the
reason that they have frontal lobes that
are underdeveloped is because the game
does that work for you it does the
process of figuring out level 1 level 2
level 3 level 4 level 5 with level 6 you
don't have to figure out which order to
do the levels it's already sort of
chunked up for you and so this is why
gamers sort of struggle a lot with
abstract problem solving or open-ended
problems because those are the things
that usually people require to move
forward in life in a little bit we'll
dig into another example of how like
another group of people which has
actually doctors who also struggle with
open-ended problem-solving and I'll show
you guys that open-ended problem-solving
is actually has nothing to do with
intelligence has nothing to do with with
laziness but it's actually all a learned
skill so in the same way that we can
the four-year-old how to break down the
abstract problem into pieces we can
actually teach you guys how to break
down an abstract problem of financial
independence or finding a girlfriend
into pieces and if we can transform an
open-ended problem into a closed-ended
problem then your analytical mind will
take over and you guys will have no
problem whatsoever
any questions
Weitere ähnliche Videos ansehen
Solving Open Ended Problems | Episode 012 Video Game Addiction
Gaming can make a better world | Jane McGonigal
CRACK BITSAT 2024 with LESS Knowledge🔥Best Short tricks for BITSAT 1st attempt | BITS Pilani
How to set the right goals and stay motivated | Ayelet Fishbach | TED
Simon Sinek: How to Build a Company That People Want to Work For | Inc. Magazine
How to Ask Good Questions in Conversations
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)