9 votes

Power creep and the collapse of the Roman Republic

4 comments

  1. Queresote
    Link
    Post-Reading Notes: I feel that the writer (Slavik) failed to demonstrate the applicability of the software program (Hearthstone) to the field of mathematics. Why does Slavik use demonstrate if...

    Post-Reading Notes:

    I feel that the writer (Slavik) failed to demonstrate the applicability of the software program (Hearthstone) to the field of mathematics.

    While there is no lack of ways to utilize such a statistical value study in the mathematics classroom…

    Why does Slavik use demonstrate if they don't demonstrate it?

    USING MATH AS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY LENS TO UNDERSTAND HISTORY

    …Didn't use any math.

    My Thoughts:

    I think that the author has a good central idea, but failed to articulate it. Using games, video or board, as a way to demonstrate real-world problems in a language that students of all ages (not just university-level) understand can be a better model for learning. Look at USNWC's war games for a prime example. Or civilization, Risk, Oregon Trail for PC, Portal 2 (especially the co-op mode).

    Also, why make Hearthstone so prominent if its only role is introducing Power Creep؟ I feel like it would have been more cohesive to use multiple examples (such as the new level caps in Destiny 2 every time the developers release a new season) to build the basis for power creep, and then give us the connections from power creep to mathematics and history.

    The stock of this intellectual soup is made from succulent material, but there aren't enough morsels for me to dine on (and the bits present as-is don't harmonize). So now I'm left unsatisfied.

    5 votes
  2. lou
    (edited )
    Link

    In this paper I will demonstrate the applicability of a certain software program in the math classroom as well as in the history classroom. Rather than working through math programs such as Mathematica, Matlab, or Sketchpad, we will be briefly looking at the video game, Hearthstone. Created by Blizzard, the studio behind the Starcraft and World of Warcraft series, Hearthstone has become one of the most popular games since its launch in 2014. The game boasts over 70 million players and remains in the top five most viewed games worldwide in terms of both streaming and eSports. The effectiveness and1 utility of video games in the university classroom has been firmly established by scholars. Yet, little scholarship exists on how video games might also work as an interdisciplinary2 bridge between subjects that are often mistakenly seen as disparate - in this case mathematics and history. This paper argues that video games such as Hearthstone can be used to not only help students better understand these individual disciplines, but that they can also be to show students the importance and the benefit of cross-discipline discussion.

    3 votes
  3. Fiachra
    Link
    Using history papers as an interdisciplinary lens to help humanities professors understand video games.

    Using history papers as an interdisciplinary lens to help humanities professors understand video games.

    3 votes
  4. stu2b50
    Link
    I'm really confused what the author's point is supposed to be. The link from powercreep in video games to the fall of the roman republic seems incredibly tortured and barely related.

    I'm really confused what the author's point is supposed to be. The link from powercreep in video games to the fall of the roman republic seems incredibly tortured and barely related.

    1 vote