Last night I stumbled across a couple of old (2010/12) TED talks that discuss a few topics which some of the L2 community has been interested in lately.
Set your macros on repeat and take a break ! :p
1 : Tom Chatfield: 7 Ways Games Reward The Brain (https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_chatfield_7_ways_games_reward_the_brain)
We're bringing gameplay into more aspects of our lives, spending countless hours -- and real money -- exploring virtual worlds for imaginary treasures. Why? As Tom Chatfield shows, games are perfectly tuned to dole out rewards that engage the brain and keep us questing for more.
2 : Daphne Bavelier: Your Brain On Video Games (https://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_bavelier_your_brain_on_video_games)
How do fast-paced video games affect the brain? Step into the lab with cognitive researcher Daphne Bavelier to hear surprising news about how video games, even action-packed shooter games, can help us learn, focus and, fascinatingly, multitask.
3 : Jane Mcgonigal : Gaming Can Make A Better World (https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world)
Games like World of Warcraft give players the means to save worlds, and incentive to learn the habits of heroes. What if we could harness this gamer power to solve real-world problems? Jane McGonigal says we can, and explains how.
To put some of the "omg lag" moments in perspective :D
Bonus : Caleb Barlow: Where is Cybercrime Really Coming From? (https://www.ted.com/talks/caleb_barlow_where_is_cybercrime_really_coming_fro m)
Cybercrime netted a whopping $450 billion in profits last year, with 2 billion records lost or stolen worldwide. Security expert Caleb Barlow calls out the insufficiency of our current strategies to protect our data. His solution? We need to respond to cybercrime with the same collective effort as we apply to a health care crisis, sharing timely information on who is infected and how the disease is spreading. If we're not sharing, he says, then we're part of the problem.