How Did You Become a Professional Gamer?

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How did you get to be a professional gamer and then a professional futurist? And, you know, where were you born and raised and and went to school? And how yo get interested in all this? Well, i grew upon east coast. I actually applied to grad school intending to study how scientists communicate research to the public through arts and theatre. But for me, it turned out one of the most effective ways to apply gaming skills is is forecasting the future. Although would not have predicted that.

Shermer speaks with world-renowned future forecaster and game designer, Jane McGonigal, about her book Imaginable in which she draws on the latest scientific research in psychology and neuroscience to show us how to train our minds to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable by inviting us to play with provocative thought experiments and future simulations.

Shermer and McGonigal discuss: what a futurist is and what they do; counterfactuals: predicting the past; how could the present moment be different?; how can you imagine the unimaginable, or think the unthinkable?; how to envision what our lives will look like ten years from now; how to to solve problems creatively; how to make decisions that will help shape the future we desire; how to simulate any future you want; simulations as thought experiments as counterfactual causality tests; gaming as simulation of problem solving; the 10,000-hour rule for success; your present self vs. your future self and why most of us discount the future too much.