She points out that many of the discussions held in the WoW forums are often technical and analytical, making use of mathematical models (theorycrafting), debate, and correlating theory with evidence, and doing all this while building on the information others have provided. The articles notes that certain 'scientific habits of mind' were rare in the forum investigated. Here is an adaptation of a graph from the article, which I am having trouble pasting into this post:
Social knowledge construction = 89%build on others' ideas = 67%
use of counterarguments = 48%
mathematical models as insight = 35%
understanding technology as socially situated = 28%
systems analysis = 28%
understanding feedback = 28%
read reports = 21%
heuristic reasoning = 16%
questioning results = 15%
appropriate use of mathematics = 12%
multiple forms of arguments = 8%
transformation of data = 7%
use data representations = 3%
generalization of results = 3%
pragmatic understanding of theory = 0%
not equating model with truth = 0%
theory-data coordination = 0%
coordination of multiple results = 0%
expect noise = 0%
reasoning through uncertainty = 0%
Granted, having a 0% next to 6 of the criteria may not be glorious, but remember, this is a GAME which many people think does nothing but assist in the degradation of young minds. Furthermore, the article only investigated the posts on a forum about Improved Mark of the Wild.... this is very small sample size, and also is about a topic which is only mildly challenging for players. If the topic were broader... say about an entire 'spec' (allotment of a limited number of 'talent points' designed to achieve the most efficient gameplay), then perhaps the discussion would have been more technical and the posts would have exhibited a more frequent representation of the investigated criteria. I really like this table though, because it gets me to start thinking about all the things WoWers do in order to play the game well... it really isn't simple and mindless, there is a lot of technical thought and strategy involved. I hope this helps to explain a little bit more about my last pots, even though these are not the same article (authored by the same individual, though). I will probably attempt to more specifically and prolifically address the use of such criteria in WoW in the future, but for now this should suffice to lay some solid ground work for WoW's intellectual benefits.
Steinkuehler, C. & Chmiel, M. (2006). Fostering scientific habits of mind in the context of online play.
