Olympics for Thinking Games
One of the driving principles behind the work of Edward de Bono is that the education we receive misses out on thinking; in short, we are not taught to think. (Of course, every gamer knows thinking is important because that's how we win at games, isn't it? No-one ever wins by the luck of the draw...) In real life I have seen many examples of that shortcoming: brilliant scholars with amazing recall of precedents, facts and figures who could not think their way out of a dead end. Tragic. Apart from de Bono, there seemed nobody interested in changing the situation. Now there may be a move for change.
On Wednesday (14 June 2006) the University of Oxford hosted what is described as "the first Olympics for thinking games". Competitors played games and solved puzzles.
According to the only report I've seen, there were four young teams - Israel, Spain, and 2 from Britain - with the Israelis winning the event. However, the even better news is that next year's event is supposed to be bigger and better with 12 teams.
The report credits chess players Ehud Shahar and Danny Gendelman with the idea. The report says: "The aim is to learn thinking strategies in order to win games – and the strategies are then applicable to a wide range of fields, such as studies, solving social problems, and more." This is what we want!
I'm aware of previous attempts at this type of event - the Mind Olympiad? - but I think this particular initiative might have more impact. It seems to be targeting school/pre university kids, has an international reach already and has the magical attraction of the Oxford University mystique. Also, it's approaching the subject from a slightly different angle because it doesn't seem to be using - yet - the games we would recognise as such. But surely, as they develop the competition, there's a reasonable chance real games will make an appearance? However, even if they don't, the mere fact somebody is encouraging the playing of games in this way is something to be praised.
Ellis Simpson
16 June 2006