

Can AI teach us critical thinking?
30 snips Jul 24, 2025
Ian Curtiss, a risk gaming designer known for crafting executive game scenarios, dives into the intersection of AI and education. He explores how AI can shape our critical thinking in a world increasingly reliant on quick answers. The discussion highlights the psychological impacts of uncertainty and how games create environments to navigate stress and decision-making. Curtiss also examines the balance between structured gameplay and spontaneous freedom, and how the brain’s dopamine responses can lead to both learning and addiction.
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Experiencing Uncertainty Through Games
- Risk gaming scenarios simulate complex futures with emergent events players never expect.
- Players experience real-time stress and dopamine hits that deepen understanding of uncertainty.
Psychological Allergy to Uncertainty
- Humans have a psychological allergy to uncertainty, which causes significant stress.
- Safe game environments help people build comfort and learn from uncertainty.
Game as Vengeful God Analogy
- Nicholas Rush Smith experienced a game with random events like a ‘vengeful god’ altering play arbitrarily.
- Players must manage emotional responses while adapting strategies to unexpected changes.