10,000 hours. Seems like a lot right? Well, that’s because it is. According to Malcolm Gladwell, 10,000 hours spent doing an activity, before the age of 21, is all that is required to become a virtuoso.

Virtuoso. Makes you think of a violinist, a pianist, or someone else in the arts. Well, what about online gaming? Billions of people around the world game every day. So much, that by the time they’re 21, they have most likely, logged those 10,000 hours. And according to Malcolm Gladwell, that, by definition, makes them a virtuoso.

Ironically, these 10,000 hours are competing with traditional education, schooling. In fact, the number of hours a person is in school, from 5th to 12th grades, is 10,080. And that’s providing that the individual has perfect attendance. And so, according to Jane McGonigal, these gamers are receiving 2 simultaneous educations.

But so what, right? McGonigal believes that since we have billions of gaming experts, that we must put their “expertise” to use. But wait! What exactly are they experts in? McGonigal discusses the gamer and their desire to achieve the “Epic Win”. She discusses how this mentality, and these people, could help us solve real life world issues.

Check out the entire lecture.

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Erin Gee

Coming from a strong sporting background, Erin Gee is one of the most competitive people you will ever meet. She can turn everything into a competition, giving her all until the she crosses the finish line. With a BA in Criminology, Erin criminological interests lie on the international level. Her other passions are fashion, softball and travel.

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