“McGonigal is a clear, methodical writer, and her ideas are well argued. Assertions are backed by countless psychological studies.” —The Boston Globe “Powerful and provocative . . . McGonigal makes a persuasive case that games have a lot to teach us about how to make our lives, and the world, better.” —San Jose Mercury News “Jane McGonigal's insights have the elegant, compact, deadly simplicity of plutonium, and the same explosive force.” —Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother A visionary game designer reveals how we can harness the power of games to boost global happiness. With 174 million gamers in the United States alone, we now live in a world where every generation will be a gamer generation. But why, Jane McGonigal asks, should games be used for escapist entertainment alone? In this groundbreaking book, she shows how we can leverage the power of games to fix what is wrong with the real world-from social problems like depression and obesity to global issues like poverty and climate change-and introduces us to cutting-edge games that are already changing the business, education, and nonprofit worlds. Written for gamers and non-gamers alike, Reality Is Broken shows that the future will belong to those who can understand, design, and play games. Jane McGonigal is also the author of SuperBetter: A Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver and More Resilient.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 We all have a bias against games today. We can’t help it. This bias is part of our culture, and it’s even woven into the way we use the words game and player in everyday conversation. #2 All games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, and voluntary participation. The goal is the specific outcome that players will work to achieve. It focuses their attention and continually orient their participation throughout the game. #3 The four traits of games are challenge, feedback, a clear win condition, and arbitrary limitations on your freedom to work in the most efficient way. The opposite of gameplay is not a game. #4 The most important difference between digital and non-digital games is the intensity of the feedback they provide. In computer and video games, the interactive loop is satisfyingly tight. There seems to be no gap between your actions and the game’s responses.

The Circle of Life is more than the food web. It's a self-organizing system of global life-cooperation and energy dissipation. Its balance and stability have been taken for granted for millennia. But in the age of the climate crisis, the Circle is breaking down. From the 1960s onward, philosophers, artists and spiritual teachers promoted the idea of the ‘Green Self' to help us understand how the Circle works, and how we harm ourselves when we damage it. But in all that time, the climate crisis only got worse. The Greening of the Self didn't happen. Using the science of ecology and a deep dive into human nature, this book explores what the Circle of Life really is, and what becomes of us when we face it in different ways. The exploration reveals a deeper eco-spiritual perspective, in which the Immensity of the Earth, and the breakdown of the Circle, are calls to action: to heal the Circle, and to create a better world.

How games are being harnessed as instruments of exploitation—and what we can do about it Warehouse workers pack boxes while a virtual dragon races across their screen. If they beat their colleagues, they get an award. If not, they can be fired. Uber presents exhausted drivers with challenges to keep them driving. China scores its citizens so they behave well, and games with in-app purchases use achievements to empty your wallet. Points, badges, and leaderboards are creeping into every aspect of modern life. In You’ve Been Played, game designer Adrian Hon delivers a blistering takedown of how corporations, schools, and governments use games and gamification as tools for profit and coercion. These are games that we often have no choice but to play, where losing has heavy penalties. You’ve Been Played is a scathing indictment of a tech-driven world that wants to convince us that misery is fun, and a call to arms for anyone who hopes to preserve their dignity and autonomy.

In the bustling realm of education, certain institutions have emerged as iconic hubs of intellectual rigor and unparalleled prestige. Among these, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) shine brightly, revered as beacons of academic excellence and incubators of future leaders. These institutions, known for their rigorous curriculum and highachieving students, have long been associated with the pursuit of technical and managerial mastery. Yet, as our understanding of education and personal growth expands, it becomes increasingly apparent that knowledge transcends the boundaries of any particular domain. Education is not confined to textbooks and lecture halls alone but extends far beyond to encompass the multidimensional facets of human existence. This book, "What They Do Not Teach at IITs and IIMs," seeks to bridge the gap between conventional education and the profound wisdom offered by psychologists, neurologists, and the popular authors. It invites readers to explore the untrodden paths of selfawareness, emotional intelligence, and personal development, crucial aspects that are often overlooked in traditional academic settings. In a world driven by rapid technological advancements and the relentless pursuit of success, it is essential to pause and reflect on the true purpose of education. While technical skills and managerial acumen undoubtedly play a pivotal role, they are only a fraction of the expansive mosaic that shapes a wellrounded individual. By delving into the realms of psychology, neuroscience, and timeless philosophical wisdom, we embark on a transformative journey that can enhance our understanding of ourselves and others, enriching our lives in unimaginable ways.

This book deconstructs and analyzes the impact of education-based trauma. Drawing on wisdom from the fields of education, psychology, neuroscience, history, political science, social justice, and philosophy, Gray connects the dots across different forms of education trauma that can occur throughout a student’s life: from bullying and anxiety to social inequity and the school-to-prison pipeline. With respect to learning, memory, social group dynamics, democracy, and mental health, this book serves as a call-to-arms, demanding civil rights for all students and for education to fulfill its ultimate duty as a force for the common good.

What if life is a game? Are you winning? Have you even decided what 'winning' is? Game design could be defined in many ways, but here the term is used to denote the practice of creating choices. Designing a game, in this sense, involves crafting limits, rewards, incentives, and risks in such a way that the person who interacts with the game – the player – makes choices that have consequences. Edward Castronova urges readers to think about the fundamentals of the human condition and compare them to different games that we all know. In some ways, life is like an idle game: providing unchallenging distractions that fit easily into a person's daily routine. In other ways, life is like the game Minesweeper: You poke in different places to learn about what you don't know, taking care to avoid big explosions. Or, life is like a role-playing game: You adopt a persona and speak your part, always seeking adventure. Bringing together questions relating to diverse fields – such as politics, economics, sociology and philosophy - Castronova persuades readers to broaden the scope of game design to answer questions about life's everyday obstacles. The object of this book is to take seriously the idea that life is a game. The goal is not to make readers wealthier or healthier. Its goal is to go on a journey into the human condition, with game design as a guide.