Podcasts about games agency

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Best podcasts about games agency

Latest podcast episodes about games agency

Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games
EP: A Year of UFO 50 - Porgy

Eggplant: The Secret Lives of Games

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2025 107:06


We're joined by Trent Kusters (League of Geeks) and Kayin (I Wanna Be The Guy) to discuss Porgy, the 22nd game in the UFO 50 collection. "Strange happenings near the coast! Dive deep and get to the bottom of what's fishy in the sea." Next week: Onion Delivery Audio edited by Dylan Shumway.   Discussed on this episode: Kayin's Porgy Blog Post – ”On Backtracking” https://kayin.moe/backtracking   Games: Agency as Art – C. Thi Nguyen https://global.oup.com/academic/product/games-9780190052089?cc=us&lang=en&  A Play of Bodies – Brendan Keogh https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262037631/a-play-of-bodies/  Shadow The Past's Porgy Speedruns (1st World Record run) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoYXGkX2_IA&t=1s  Game Maker's Notebook – 17 Year Development Journey with Caves of Qud https://interactive.libsyn.com/17-year-development-journey-with-caves-of-qud    Kayin's website https://kayin.moe/about   Kayin on bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/kayin.moe  Trent on bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/trentkusters.bsky.social   http://discord.gg/eggplant https://www.patreon.com/eggplantshow  

Rule Breaker Investing
Authors in August: “Games” with C. Thi Nguyen

Rule Breaker Investing

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 28, 2024 61:00 Transcription Available


Games have always been central to the human experience, shaping the way we think, interact, and understand the world. This week, as part of our Authors in August series, David welcomes back philosopher C. Thi Nguyen to explore the deeper implications of games in our lives. From ancient pastimes to modern video games, we delve into why games matter, how they reflect our agency, and what they teach us about ourselves. With his book Games: Agency as Art, Nguyen reveals the profound ways games act as a form of artistic expression and how they can even influence the way we navigate life's challenges. Whether you're a dedicated gamer or simply curious about the philosophical underpinnings of play, this conversation offers insights that extend far beyond the gaming table.   Also, this is a reminder that our August Mailbag episode drops this Saturday. Whether you're on the road for Labor Day Weekend or just relaxing at home, be sure to tune in, our 106th consecutive monthly mailbag will be there for you! (1:34) Intro C.Thi Nguen (4:51) Why we play games (11:58) What does it mean to play a game? (19:13) Striving Play vs. Achievement Play  (31:21) A game that people think is not a game? (34:43) What's not a game people think is a game?  (54:13) Buy Sell or Hold Producer: Desirée Jones    

The Gradient Podcast
C. Thi Nguyen: Values, Legibility, and Gamification

The Gradient Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2024 90:13


Episode 127I spoke with Christopher Thi Nguyen about:* How we lose control of our values* The tradeoffs of legibility, aggregation, and simplification* Gamification and its risksEnjoy—and let me know what you think!C. Thi Nguyen as of July 2020 is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah. His research focuses on how social structures and technology can shape our rationality and our agency. He has published on trust, expertise, group agency, community art, cultural appropriation, aesthetic value, echo chambers, moral outrage porn, and games. He received his PhD from UCLA. Once, he was a food writer for the Los Angeles Times.I spend a lot of time on this podcast—if you like my work, you can support me on Patreon :)Reach me at editor@thegradient.pub for feedback, ideas, guest suggestions. Subscribe to The Gradient Podcast:  Apple Podcasts  | Spotify | Pocket Casts | RSSFollow The Gradient on TwitterOutline:* (00:00) Intro* (01:10) The ubiquity of James C. Scott* (06:03) Legibility and measurement* (12:50) Value capture, classes and measurement* (17:30) Political value choice in ML* (23:30) Why value collapse happens* (33:00) Blackburn, “Hume and Thick Connexions” — projectivism and legibility* (36:20) Heuristics and decision-making* (40:08) Institutional classification systems* (46:55) Back to Hume* (48:27) Epistemic arms races, stepping outside our conceptual architectures* (56:40) The “what to do” question* (1:04:00) Gamification, aesthetic engagement* (1:14:51) Echo chambers and defining utility* (1:22:10) Progress, AGI millenarianism* (disclaimer: I don't know what's going to happen with the world, either.)* (1:26:04) Parting visions* (1:30:02) OutroLinks:* Chrisopher's Twitter and homepage* Games: Agency as Art* Papers referenced* Transparency is Surveillance* Games and the art of agency* Autonomy and Aesthetic Engagement* Art as a Shelter from Science* Value Capture* Hostile Epistemology* Hume and Thick Connexions (Simon Blackburn) Get full access to The Gradient at thegradientpub.substack.com/subscribe

Conspirituality
207: Gaming Realities (w/Thi Nguyen)

Conspirituality

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2024 68:26


Philosopher Thi Nguyen first visited us 150 episodes ago (!!) to discuss how social media gamification exploded online conspiracy theories and audience capture drags content producers toward the seductions of premature clarity—and the ecstasy of fascism.  Nguyen returns to discuss “value capture”: how simplified and portable metrics in institutions, technology, and media landscapes erode our moral capacities as we pursue goals we never signed up for. (We even consider this influence on podcasting!) Throughout, we also talk about the heart of Nguyen's book, Games: Agency as Art, in which he explores the liberatory nature of games that offer the pleasures of striving and absorption. We wonder whether—if we valued and understood play for its own sake—we might not need to gamify the world.  Show Notes Games: Agency as Art  Games and the Art of Agency (Philosophical Review) (2020 APA Article Prize; selected for Philosopher Annual‘s “10 Best Philosophy Articles of 2019”) Value Capture (JESP) Trust as an Unquestioning Attitude (OSE) Transparency is Surveillance (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research) (short summary) Hostile Epistemology (keynote for the 2022 NASSP.) Autonomy and Aesthetic Engagement (Mind) (audio) Art as a Shelter from Science (Aristotelian Society Supplementary) The Arts of Action (Philosopher's Imprint) Moral Outrage Porn with Bekka Williams (Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy) (selected for Philosopher Annual‘s “10 Best Philosophy Articles of 2020”) How Twitter Gamifies Communication (Applied Epistemology, OUP) (And a shortened version for students, with suggested classroom exercises.) Echo Chambers and Epistemic Bubbles (Episteme) The Seductions of Clarity (RIPS) Cultural Appropriation and the Intimacy of Groups, with Matt Strohl (Philosophical Studies) Trust and Antitrust — Annette Baier Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Think Like A Game Designer
C. Thi Nguyen — Game Design as Art, Fish Taco Adventures, and Exploring Game Design Principles in Daily Life (#61)

Think Like A Game Designer

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2024 94:14


C. Thi Nguyen is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah and the author of the incredible book "Games: Agency as Art." In this episode, Thi delves into his theory of games as an art form that revolves around agency. His website, Objectionable.net, showcases an extensive collection of published papers on games, the philosophy of technology, and other intriguing topics. My conversation with Thi digs into the essence of games—exploring their power, addictiveness, and how game concepts can be applied to enhance your daily life. Don't miss this episode for a thought-provoking journey into the philosophy of games with Thi Nguyen.Visit http://justingarydesign.com/ for show notes, game design lessons, and more! Get full access to Think Like A Game Designer at justingarydesign.substack.com/subscribe

The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast
Episode 126, ‘Playfulness Versus Epistemic Traps' with C. Thi Nguyen (Part II - Further Analysis and Discussion)

The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2024 39:06


There's great pleasure to be found in make-believe. Instantly shifting our perspectives and belief systems gives rise to new possibilities – possibilities that are unavailable to the serious and sober-minded. Yet, as time passes, so does our desire to play. Adults – and, perhaps more so, philosophers – are instructed to ‘grow up', to build their lives and views on sensible grounds, and leave their disposition for laughter, disruption, and mischief in the playground. For C. T Nguyen – Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah – this is a foolish mistake. C. T Nguyen is one of the most innovative aestheticians of our time. As well as being published across philosophy's leading journals, Nguyen's work – which focuses on art, games, and agency – has earned him several notable prizes, including the American Philosophical Association 2021 Award, for his book Games: Agency as Art. In this episode, we'll be speaking to Nguyen about intellectual playfulness. For Nguyen, playfulness should be understood as a virtue and not a vice. When we explore philosophical ideas through our usual perspectives, we close ourselves off from a rich set of alternative possibilities, and risk re-directing good-faith inquiry into bad-faith results. Playfulness, however, allows us to escape these traps in our thinking, and open ourselves up to the possibility of creativity. This episode is produced in partnership with the Aesthetics and Political Epistemology Project at the University of Liverpool, led by Katherine Furman, Robin McKenna, and Vid Simoniti and funded by the British Society of Aesthetics. Contents Part I. The Ideal Thinker Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion Links C. Thi Nguyen, ‘Playfulness Versus Epistemic Traps' (paper) C. Thi Nguyen, Games: Agency As Art (book) C. Thi Nguyen, website C. Thi Nguyen, X (Twitter) John Gierach, Fly Fishing Small Streams (book) Natasha Dow Schüll, Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas (book) Monster Train (game)

The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast
Episode 126, ‘Playfulness Versus Epistemic Traps' with C. Thi Nguyen (Part I - The Ideal Thinker)

The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2024 38:31


There's great pleasure to be found in make-believe. Instantly shifting our perspectives and belief systems gives rise to new possibilities – possibilities that are unavailable to the serious and sober-minded. Yet, as time passes, so does our desire to play. Adults – and, perhaps more so, philosophers – are instructed to ‘grow up', to build their lives and views on sensible grounds, and leave their disposition for laughter, disruption, and mischief in the playground. For C. T Nguyen – Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah – this is a foolish mistake. C. T Nguyen is one of the most innovative aestheticians of our time. As well as being published across philosophy's leading journals, Nguyen's work – which focuses on art, games, and agency – has earned him several notable prizes, including the American Philosophical Association 2021 Award, for his book Games: Agency as Art. In this episode, we'll be speaking to Nguyen about intellectual playfulness. For Nguyen, playfulness should be understood as a virtue and not a vice. When we explore philosophical ideas through our usual perspectives, we close ourselves off from a rich set of alternative possibilities, and risk re-directing good-faith inquiry into bad-faith results. Playfulness, however, allows us to escape these traps in our thinking, and open ourselves up to the possibility of creativity. This episode is produced in partnership with the Aesthetics and Political Epistemology Project at the University of Liverpool, led by Katherine Furman, Robin McKenna, and Vid Simoniti and funded by the British Society of Aesthetics. Contents Part I. The Ideal Thinker Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion Links C. Thi Nguyen, ‘Playfulness Versus Epistemic Traps' (paper) C. Thi Nguyen, Games: Agency As Art (book) C. Thi Nguyen, website C. Thi Nguyen, X (Twitter) Natasha Dow Schüll, Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas (book) Monster Train (game)

The Wadeoutthere Fly Fishing Podcast
WOT 175: Philosophy and The Theory of Games in Fly Fishing with Thi Nguyen

The Wadeoutthere Fly Fishing Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2023 97:05


In this episode we WadeOutThere with Thi Nguyen, from Salt Lake City, Utah.  As long as Thi can remember he has had a love of all kinds of games.  Thi was raised in California, studied philosophy in school, and moved to Utah to work as a philosophy professor at the University of Utah.He started fly fishing to help counteract some of the negative aspects of the new remote teaching environment that arose during the pandemic, and fell in love with the sport and its congruence with his work in the philosophy of games.  He is the author of the book, Games: Agency as Art.  This episode is a deep dive into the philosophy of fly fishing.  We discuss why we play the game of fly fishing, how fly fishing can be an infinite game, and a little bit about Thi's experience learning to fish on the Provo River.To learn more about Thi and the topics we discussed in this episode, check out the following links:Twitter:  @add_hawkThi's website: Objectionable.netGames: Agency as ArtShow notes + MORENewsletter Sign-UpView Jason's ArtworkThanks for listening.VR- Jason

Open to Debate
Should Artists Be Allowed to Borrow From Cultures Besides Their Own?

Open to Debate

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2023 53:15


Modern art, runway fashion, and music today are in the middle of a cultural reckoning, where artists must find a balance between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. Those in support of borrowing say placing restrictions on what artists can be inspired by may stifle artistic expression. Those against it say doing so erases a tradition's context while echoing past mistreatment. Now we debate: Should Artists Be Allowed to Borrow From Cultures Besides Their Own?  Arguing Yes: Yascha Mounk, political scientist, author, and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies    Arguing No: C. Thi Nguyen, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah; Author of "Games: Agency as Art"  Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Game Studies Study Buddies
60 – Nguyen – Games: Agency As Art

Game Studies Study Buddies

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2023 143:44


We talk about C. Thi Nguyen’s Games: Agency As Art Buy the shirt! Support this show on Patreon! Buy books from our Bookshop.org page! Follow Ranged Touch on Twitter. Follow CMRN on Twitter. Follow Michael on Twitter. Chris Hunt created the theme song for this show.

Oddly Influenced
E33: Interview: Jessica Kerr on /Games: Agency as Art/

Oddly Influenced

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2023 41:16


Jessica Kerr (known to computers everywhere as @jessitron) is a software developer, speaker, and symmathecist. (A symmathesy is a learning system composed of learning parts. To her, each software team is a symmathesy composed of the people on the team, the running software, and all of their tools.) @jessitron is another of those people who apply ideas from outside software to software, including in her role as a developer advocate at Honeycomb, a company that aims to make the workings of software visible to its developers. Were she not engaging, personable, and enthusiastic, she'd be scarily like me. This conversation is about C. Thi Nguyen's book Games: Agency as Art, whose blurb starts, "Games are a unique art form. Game designers don't just create a world; they create who you will be in that world. They tell you what abilities to use and what goals to take on. In other words, games work in the medium of agency."Jessitron linksjessitron.com (symmathesy)MastodonTwitterHer calendar for observability office hoursReferencesC. Thi Nguyen, Games: Agency as Art, 2020Pandemic (cooperative board game), 2008Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais, Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow, 2019John Kay, Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly, 2010The "Farm to Tabor" podcast episode: "Donut science, cars, & grassfed beef", 2018James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, 1998In the podcast, I mentioned classic English country gardens. I riffed a bit on Tom Stoppard's play "Arcadia". It "explores the relationship between past and present, order and disorder, certainty and uncertainty. It has been praised by many critics as the finest play from 'one of the most significant contemporary playwrights' in the English language. In 2006, the Royal Institution of Great Britain named it one of the best science-related works ever written." I cut the riff out because – embarrassingly – I couldn't remember the names of either the play or its author. From personal experience, I can recommend this full cast performance for a road trip. On that trip, we also listened to the Alzabo Soup podcast's multi-episode commentary. Photo credit: me

Artificiality
C. Thi Nguyen: Metrification

Artificiality

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2023 67:00


AI is based on data. And data is frequently collected with the intent to be quantified, understood, and used across context. That's why we have things like grade point averages that translate across subject matters and educational institutions. That's why we perform cost-benefit analyses to normalize the forecasted value of projects—no matter the details. As we deploy more AI that is based on a metrified world, we're encouraging the quantification of our lives and risk losing the context and subjective value that creates meaning.In this interview, we talk with C. Thi Nguyen about these large scale metrics, about objectivity and judgment, about how this quantification removes the nuance, contextual sensitivity, and variability to make these measurements legible to the state. And that's just scratching the surface of this interview.Thi Nguyen used to be a food writer and is now a philosophy professor at the University of Utah. His research focuses on how social structures and technology can shape our rationality and our agency. He writes about trust, art, games, and communities. His book, Games: Agency as Art, was awarded the American Philosophical Association's 2021 Book Prize.About Sonder Studio:We created Sonder Studio to empower humans in our complex age of machines, data, and AI. Through our strategy, innovation, and change services, we help organizations activate the collective intelligence of humans and AI. We work with leaders in tech, data, and analytics to co-create AI strategies, design innovative AI products and services, and craft change management programs that help their people succeed in a AI-powered, data-centric, complex world. We leverage the new world of foundation models, generative AI, and low-code environments to create an amplified human-machine experience centered on machines that can be a mind for our minds. You can learn more about us at getsonder.com.Check out some of our recent publications:* Mind for our Minds: Culture* Announcing [Your Team's] Generative AI Summit* Research brief: C-Suite Strategy Playbook for Generative AI* Mind for our Minds: Meaning* Mind for our Minds: Introduction* Research brief: aiOS—Foundation ModelsIf you enjoy our podcasts, please subscribe and leave a positive rating or comment. Sharing your positive feedback helps us reach more people and connect them with the world's great minds.Learn more about Sonder StudioSubscribe to get Artificiality delivered to your emailLearn about our book Make Better Decisions and buy it on AmazonThanks to Jonathan Coulton for our music This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artificiality.substack.com

Nice Games Club
Wandering into Game Development (with Jamaal Sawyer-Dymski and Greg Borreson)

Nice Games Club

Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2023


On this episode, we talk with two of Ellen's coworkers and the Games Agency, Jamaal Sawyer-Dymski & Greg Borreson. They talk about their career paths, from their time as young nerds, to working in very different areas of computer sciences and programming, to the fact that saying "Enhance" doesn't actually help with anything CSI style, to working with your nice host, Ellen.Ellen has some audio problems (they get better), Stephen gets called out, and Mark calls it in from home (because Dale exposed him to Covid). Spoilers:Dale and Mark are recovering (slowly) from Covid. It turns out that the secret to getting into game development is showing up to a music festival and harassing your roommate's boyfriend. Who knew? Wandering into Game Development IRLImpact JSApache CordovaJamaal Sawyer-DymskiGuest Jamaal was a professional musician (saxophone), before transitioning into game development, through learning programming in a Master's program for forensic computing. Jamaal resides outside of San Diego, CA. Greg BorresonGuest Greg Borreson learned programming through website development at the University of Alberta (that's in Canada). He transitioned to game development through a contact he made at a music festival.

Casella d’eixida
5x7 Com millorar tots els jocs per zero euros

Casella d’eixida

Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2023 32:29


Familia, tenim un secret que contar-vos: en el fons, els jocs no importen, l’únic que importa per a passar-s’ho bé al voltant d’una taula és tindre una bona ACTITUT LÚDICA! Episodi gravat en directe a les jornades JESTA 2023 organitzades per Jocs Quart a Quart de Poblet. Moltes gràcies a tot el públic, els tècnics i a l’organització per comptar amb nosaltres! En quant al só, feia un poquet de vent, que pillen els micros, però en general s’entén bé el que diguem. 00:00 - Intro i música 00:32 - Comencem! 1:55 - Emosio enganyaos 7:48 - Abans de res, uns bàsics d’educació 13:07 - El que passa a la taula es queda a la taula 15:11 - Fes el fava 17:01- Evitem les profecies autocomplertes 19:10 - Cal jugar a guanyar 21:20 - Celebrant victòries i derrotes 23:44 - Les bones jugades 27:48 - Preguntes i comentaris dels públic Enllaços d’interés: - La història del marine i joc de trons a reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgamescirclejerk/comments/6p40jw/unjerk_crevice_story_for_posterity/ - A fine move (Shut Up and Sit Down) a la review de Tigris i Èufrates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jl_ensO_UY - Llibre de ‘Games: Agency as Art’ de C. Thi Nguyen: https://objectionable.net/games-agency-as-art/ Recordem que també ens podeu vore (si vore’ns!) a YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/CaselladEixida), on les animacions han estat carrec del gran Nacho Naya (nachonaya.net). Mil gràcies xicon! Amb música de Mamvt, surf instrumental en valencià (https://open.spotify.com/artist/24n4dIehIgk5jSsmsFG6WS) Vos animem a seguir-nos a les xarxes: 🐦 twitter.com/casellaeixida 📸 instagram.com/casellaeixida

Boston Computation Club
04/29/23: Q&A on the Philosophy of Games with Christopher Ba Thi Nguyen, in conversation with Wei Sun

Boston Computation Club

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2023 56:58


Christopher Ba Thi Nguyen is a professor of philosophy at the University of Utah, and the author of Games: Agency as Art. Today he joined us to discuss his book, which covers the philosophy of all sorts of games: rock climbing, Dark Souls, judo, poker, dungeons and dragons, etc. The event took the form of an interview hosted by Wei Sun, a longtime group member who read Thi's book in detail and really vibed with it. This was one of the most engaged and dynamic conversations we've hosted and in contrast to other events which have had a heavily visual component, this one is mostly auditory, so should make a very good podcast-style experience. We're very grateful to Thi for joining us today and to Wei for hosting the event, and we hope you enjoy it post-hoc as much as we did live! - The book: https://www.amazon.com/Games-Agency-As-Art-Thinking/dp/0190052082- Wei's blog: http://weiright.blogspot.com/2022/06/movie-review-everything-everywhere-all.html - Wei's blog: http://weiright.blogspot.com/2022/06/movie-review-everything-everywhere-all.html

Pillow Talk
How Games Shape Our Minds with Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen

Pillow Talk

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2023 74:50


C.Thi Nguyen, Ph.D. is a philosophy professor at the University of Utah and author of the book Games: Agency as Art, which was awarded the American Philosophical Association's Book Prize. His work examines games as an art form —specifically, their role in communicating different forms of societal agency. He and Eileen discuss how our social structures and technologies shape how we think and what we value, including everything from games, social media, porn and echo chambers.  You can find him at objectionable.net.  Twitter: @add_hawk  https://twitter.com/add_hawk?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor You can buy his book Games: Agency As Art.  https://www.amazon.com/Games-Agency-As-Art-Thinking/dp/0190052082   Check Out squarespace.com/goingmental for a free trial, and when you're ready to launch, use OFFER CODE: GOINGMENTAL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.   Show links:   Follow @eileen on Instagram Follow @killerandasweetthang on Instagram Follow @eileeninparis on TikTok  More information at: Goingmental.com     Produced by Dear Media.

Between Two Cairns
After-Show Show: More Lorn, Agency as Art, Megadungeons

Between Two Cairns

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2022 21:18


In a special after-show (show), Yochai and Brad share additional thoughts about Lorn Song of the Bachelor,  adventure design, player agency, and megadungeons.Games: Agency As ArtInterview with C. Thi NguyenStonehell0:57 More Lorn5:15 A System to Match the Setting13:19 Completionism13:57 Games: Agency as Art16:40 Stonehell20:00 WaitingThanks to Bobby McElver for the show's music.For listener questions, email betweentwocairns@gmail.com!Check out our Patreon to support the show. Also stickers.Find more Between Two Cairns here.

Robinson's Podcast
34 - C Thi Nguyen: Agency, Aesthetics, & The Philosophy of Games

Robinson's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2022 74:37


C Thi Nguyen is a professor in the philosophy department at the University of Utah. Before that, he did his graduate work at UCLA, where he was also a food writer with the LA Times. Robinson and Thi talk about his book, Games: Agency as Art, along with why we call things porn, autonomy and aesthetic judgment, and the difficult epistemic situation of having to select which experts to rely on in fields where we can't make our own informed decisions. Instagram: @robinsonerhardt TikTok: @robinsonerhardt Twitch (Robinson Eats): @robinsonerhardt YouTube (Robinson Eats): youtube.com/@robinsoneats --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robinson-erhardt/support

Future Histories
S02E34 - tante zu Crypto-Imaginaries und alternativen technologischen Infrastrukturen

Future Histories

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2022 95:28


tante wirft einen kritischen Blick auf die Imaginationen der Krypto-Szene und entwirft die Umrisse alternativer technologischer Infrastrukturen. Korrektur: In der Anmoderation erwähne ich (Jan) die Krypto-Trading Plattform FTX und sage, sie sei vor dem Zusammenbruch die größte Krypto-Trading Plattform gewesen. Das stimmt nicht. Sie war die zweit oder drittgrößte. Die größte ist Binance. Entschuldigt den Fehler. Kollaborative Podcast-Transkription Wenn ihr Future Histories durch eure Mitarbeit an der kollaborativen Transkription der Episoden unterstützen wollt, dann meldet euch unter: transkription@futurehistories.today FAQ zur kollaborativen Podcast-Transkription: shorturl.at/eL578   Shownotes tantes Website: https://tante.cc/ tante bei Mastodon: @tante@mastodon.social tante auf Twitter: https://twitter.com/tante  Weitere Shownotes Für die "global critical conversation about all things crypto" siehe den großartigen Crypto Syllabus: https://the-crypto-syllabus.com/ Blockchain Ethereum: https://ethereum.org/de/ Golumbia, David. 2016. The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism. University of Minnesota Press.: https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/the-politics-of-bitcoin Sam Bankman-Fried (Wikipedia): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Bankman-Fried BBC Artikel zu Sam Bankman-Fried: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63612489 Curtis Yarvin (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Yarvin Luddismus (Wikipedia): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddismus Ben Tarnoff: https://www.bentarnoff.com/ Tarnoff, Ben. 2022. Internet for the People: The Fight for Our Digital Future. Verso Books.: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3927-internet-for-the-people Barlow, John Perry. 1994. The declaration of independence of cyberspace.: https://www.eff.org/de/cyberspace-independence Vinsel, Lee, & Andrew L. Russell. 2020. The innovation delusion: How our obsession with the new has disrupted the work that matters most. Penguin Random House.: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576816/the-innovation-delusion-by-lee-vinsel-and-andrew-l-russell/ David Graeber (Wikipedia): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Graeber C. Thi Nguyen: https://objectionable.net/ Nguyen, C. Thi. 2020. Games: Agency as art. Oxford University Press, USA.: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/games-9780190052089?cc=at&lang=en&   Weitere Future Histories Episoden S02E28 | Marcus Meindel zum Global Commoning System: https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s02/e28-marcus-meindel-zum-global-commoning-system/ S02E26 | Andrea Vetter zu Degrowth und Technologie: https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s02/e26-andrea-vetter-zu-degrowth-und-technologie/ S02E20 | Trebor Scholz on Platform Cooperativism: https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s02/e20-trebor-scholz-on-platform-cooperativism/ S02E07 | Simon Schaupp zu Technopolitik von unten: https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s02/e07-simon-schaupp-zu-technopolitik-von-unten/ S02E04 | Vincent August zu technologischem Regieren: https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s02/e04-vincent-august-zu-technologischem-regieren/  S01E06 | Jaya Klara Brekke on the Political in Blockchain: https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s01/e06-jaya-klara-brekke-on-the-political-in-blockchain/ Wenn euch Future Histories gefällt, dann erwägt doch bitte eine Unterstützung auf Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/join/FutureHistories? Schreibt mir unter office@futurehistories.today und diskutiert mit auf Twitter (#FutureHistories): https://twitter.com/FutureHpodcast oder auf Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/FutureHistories/ www.futurehistories.today   Episode Keywords: #Podcast, #FutureHistories, #tante, #JanGroos, #Interview, #Technologie, #Luddismus, #Blockchain, #Cyberspace, #Crypto, #Ethereum, #Bitcoin, #NFT, #Demokratie, #Kryptowährung, #Web3, #Software, #Cyberspace, #SamBankmanFried, #Opensource,

Brettspiel-News.de Podcast
#253 BSN TALK (75) | im Gespräch mit Anita Landgraf (White Castle Games Agency)

Brettspiel-News.de Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2022 39:31


In unserer 75. Folge von BSN TALK redet Johannes mit Anita Landgraf (White Castle Games Agency) über die Agentur und Spieleentwicklung.Ihr habt Feedback zu dem Podcast und Themen- oder Gastwünsche? Schreibt uns auf Facebook, Twitter oder Instagram. Außerdem könnt ihr auf unserem Discord Server vorbeischauen und den Podcast auch auf Youtube anhören.

New Books Network
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:15


Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be and what to care about during the game. Game designers sculpt alternate agencies, and game players submerge themselves in those alternate agencies. Thus, the fact that we play games demonstrates the fluidity of our own agency. We can throw ourselves, for a little while, into a different and temporary motivations. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals. Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

New Books in Sports
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

New Books in Sports

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:15


Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be and what to care about during the game. Game designers sculpt alternate agencies, and game players submerge themselves in those alternate agencies. Thus, the fact that we play games demonstrates the fluidity of our own agency. We can throw ourselves, for a little while, into a different and temporary motivations. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals. Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sports

New Books in Critical Theory
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

New Books in Critical Theory

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:15


Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be and what to care about during the game. Game designers sculpt alternate agencies, and game players submerge themselves in those alternate agencies. Thus, the fact that we play games demonstrates the fluidity of our own agency. We can throw ourselves, for a little while, into a different and temporary motivations. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals. Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

New Books in Anthropology
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

New Books in Anthropology

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:15


Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be and what to care about during the game. Game designers sculpt alternate agencies, and game players submerge themselves in those alternate agencies. Thus, the fact that we play games demonstrates the fluidity of our own agency. We can throw ourselves, for a little while, into a different and temporary motivations. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals. Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

New Books in Sociology
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

New Books in Sociology

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:15


Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be and what to care about during the game. Game designers sculpt alternate agencies, and game players submerge themselves in those alternate agencies. Thus, the fact that we play games demonstrates the fluidity of our own agency. We can throw ourselves, for a little while, into a different and temporary motivations. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals. Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

New Books in Art
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

New Books in Art

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:15


Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be and what to care about during the game. Game designers sculpt alternate agencies, and game players submerge themselves in those alternate agencies. Thus, the fact that we play games demonstrates the fluidity of our own agency. We can throw ourselves, for a little while, into a different and temporary motivations. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals. Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/art

New Books in Communications
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

New Books in Communications

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:15


Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be and what to care about during the game. Game designers sculpt alternate agencies, and game players submerge themselves in those alternate agencies. Thus, the fact that we play games demonstrates the fluidity of our own agency. We can throw ourselves, for a little while, into a different and temporary motivations. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals. Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

NBN Book of the Day
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

NBN Book of the Day

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:15


Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be and what to care about during the game. Game designers sculpt alternate agencies, and game players submerge themselves in those alternate agencies. Thus, the fact that we play games demonstrates the fluidity of our own agency. We can throw ourselves, for a little while, into a different and temporary motivations. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals. Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

In Conversation: An OUP Podcast
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

In Conversation: An OUP Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2022 58:15


Games are a unique art form. Games work in the medium of agency. Game designers tell us who to be and what to care about during the game. Game designers sculpt alternate agencies, and game players submerge themselves in those alternate agencies. Thus, the fact that we play games demonstrates the fluidity of our own agency. We can throw ourselves, for a little while, into a different and temporary motivations. This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals. Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency. Adam Bobeck is a PhD candidate in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Leipzig. His PhD is entitled “Object-Oriented Azadari: Shi'i Muslim Rituals and Ontology”. For more about his work, see www.adambobeck.com.

Book Society
Playwright Kirk Lynn and I discuss Games: Agency as Art by C. Thi Nguyen @add_hawk

Book Society

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2022 31:47


Playwright Kirk Lynn and I discuss Games: Agency as Art by C. Thi Nguyen.  We start out taking about how we don't really like the book and then slowly realize that it's deep and thought provoking and we actually did like it a lot.Buy Games: Agency as Art:https://www.amazon.com/Games-Agency-As-Art-Thinking/dp/0190052082/ref=sr_1_1?crid=AEG76IMELJXF&keywords=games+agency+as+art+c.+thi+nguyen&qid=1664425819&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjcwIiwicXNhIjoiMC43MiIsInFzcCI6IjAuODkifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=Games+agency+a%2Caps%2C264&sr=8-1Buy Rules For Werewolves:https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Werewolves-Kirk-Lynn/dp/1612194761/ref=sr_1_1?crid=135RFBWFXMZ0N&keywords=rules+for+werewolves&qid=1664425856&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjQwIiwicXNhIjoiMS44NyIsInFzcCI6IjEuMzMifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=rules+for+warewolves%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-1

Pause On The Play
Values Hijacking, Capitalism, and Systemic Change with Tara McMullin

Pause On The Play

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2022 64:41


Many of us are aware of how our business values can get co-opted by the values and structures of capitalism. What may be less obvious is how our personal values can also be influenced by capitalist thinking. Capitalism is more than an economic system. Capitalism is a fundamental part of our politics, culture, and how we navigate our personal and professional lives. Tara McMullin joins Erica to discuss the far-reaching impacts of capitalism on our lives, the gamification of our values and goals, how our values get co-opted by imperatives for efficiency and productivity, and how we can begin to cultivate awareness and make choices that truly align with our values. In this discussion: Why capitalism is more than an economic system How the gamification of our lives keeps us striving for more “points” How capitalism creates the lens we use to shape our values How the system impacts how we view ourselves and our work How to build awareness and begin deconstructing the narratives of the system in your life Connect with Tara McMullin:  What Works Instagram: @tara_mcmullin Twitter: @taragentile Preorder What Works: A Comprehensive Framework to Change the Way We Approach Goal Setting Ready to dive deeper? We all have things we think we “should” be doing, and those influences can get in the way of acting in alignment with our values, especially when we aren't sure how to take our values from static words to actions. Taking action with your values allows them to become guiding principles on how to respond, make choices, and create impact in your life and with your brand. Members of Pause on the Play® The Community have evergreen access Erica and India's Jackson's workshop, Reconsidering What You Know About Values, where you'll find support in understanding how leading with your values can shift your brand and your life. Get access to the workshop and our entire library of evergreen resources by joining at pauseontheplay.com/community Resources: Tara's thoughts have been influenced by Games: Agency as Art, C. Thi Nguyen Listen to C. Thi Nguyen on the Ezra Klein Show Listen to C. Thi Nguyen on the Conspirituality Podcast Listen to What Works Ep 372: What is Money? With Paco de Leon Listen to What Works Ep 357: Building a Business Based on What Matters with Coach Mara Glatzel

The Ezra Klein Show
Best of: A Life-Changing Philosophy of Games

The Ezra Klein Show

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2022 72:53


Today, we're re-airing one of my favorite episodes of all time. It was originally recorded in February of 2022, but I've been unable to stop thinking about it ever since.When we play Monopoly or basketball, we know we are playing a game. The stakes are low. The rules are silly. The point system is arbitrary. But what if life is full of games — ones with much higher stakes — that we don't even realize we're playing?According to the philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, games and gamified systems are everywhere in modern life. Social media applies the lure of a points-based scoring system to the complex act of communication. Fitness apps convert the joy and beauty of physical motion into a set of statistics you can monitor. The grades you received in school flatten the qualitative richness of education into a numerical competition. If you've ever consulted the U.S. News & World Report college rankings database, you've witnessed the leaderboard approach to university admissions.In Nguyen's book, “Games: Agency as Art,” a core insight is that we're not simply playing these games — they are playing us, too. Our desires, motivations and behaviors are constantly being shaped and reshaped by incentives and systems that we aren't even aware of. Whether on the internet or in the vast bureaucracies that structure our lives, we find ourselves stuck playing games over and over again that we may not even want to win — and that we aren't able to easily walk away from.This is one of those conversations that offers a new and surprising lens for understanding the world. We discuss the unique magic of activities like rock climbing and playing board games, how Twitter's system of likes and retweets is polluting modern politics, why governments and bureaucracies love tidy packets of information, how echo chambers like QAnon bring comfort to their “players,” how to make sure we don't get stuck in a game without realizing it, why we should be a little suspicious of things that give us pleasure and how to safeguard our own values in a world that wants us to care about winning the most points.Mentioned:How Twitter Gamifies Communication by C. Thi NguyenTrust in Numbers by Theodore M. PorterSeeing Like a State by James C. Scott“Against Rotten Tomatoes” by Matt Strohl“A Game Designer's Analysis Of QAnon” by Reed BerkowitzThe Great Endarkenment by Elijah MillgramGame recommendations:Modern ArtRootThe Quiet YearThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.“The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rogé Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld; audience strategy by Shannon Busta.  Special thanks to Kristin Lin.

Decision Space
Games Are Agency As Art - A New Way To Talk about Games With C. Thi Nguyen

Decision Space

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2022 71:53


Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games! Click on the link to join our active and welcoming Discord community!  Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon)   Episode 67 - Games are Agency as Art with C. Thi Nguyen We are joined by philosopher and author C. Thi Nguyen to discuss the ideas in his incredible book Games: Agency as Art. We touch on the value of games as an artistic medium, striving play vs. achievement play, flow state, and why fly fishing is the 18XX of, well, fishing. It's a fantastic conversation that will change the way you think about games.  For more of C. Thi Nguyen, you buy his book, find his website and articles here, and follow him on twitter.   Music Credits Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.  Rules Overview Music:  Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way...​ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI   Contact We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Twitter @DecisionSpa and talk to us there! If you prefer email, then hit us up at decisionspa@gmail.com. This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com. Bye!  

Weird Studies
Episode 117: Time is a Child at Play: On the Mystery of Games

Weird Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2022 68:22


The topic of games and play has fascinated JF and Phil since the launch of Weird Studies. Way back in 2018, they recorded back-to-back episodes on tabletop roleplaying games and fighting sports, and more recently, they did a two-parter on Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game, a philosophical novel suggesting that all human culture tends toward play. In this episode, your hosts draw on a wealth of texts, memories, and nascent ideas to explore the game concept as such. What is a game? What do games tell us about life? What is the function of play in the formation of reality? Support us on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/weirdstudies) Find us on Discord (https://discord.com/invite/Jw22CHfGwp) Get the new T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau (https://cottonbureau.com/products/can-o-content#/13435958/tee-men-standard-tee-vintage-black-tri-blend-s)! Get your Weird Studies merchandise (https://www.redbubble.com/people/Weird-Studies/shop?asc=u) (t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc.) Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop (https://bookshop.org/shop/weirdstudies) Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack (https://pierre-yvesmartel.bandcamp.com/album/weird-studies-music-from-the-podcast-vol-1) REFERENCES Roger Caillois, Man, Play, and Games (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780252070334) Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781621389996) Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781405159289) Bernard Suits, The Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781554812158) Jobe Bittman, The Book of Antitheses US version (https://us.lotfp.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=87), EU version (http://www.lotfp.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=412) Weird Studies, Episode 6, Dungeons and Dragons (https://www.weirdstudies.com/6) Weird Studies, Episode 7, Boxing (https://www.weirdstudies.com/7) C. Thi Nguyen, Games: Agency as Art (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780190052089) Eduardo Vivieros de Castro, Cannibal Metaphysics (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9781517905316) BF Skinner (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner), American psychologist Heraclitus, Fragments (https://bookshop.org/a/18799/9780142437650)

The Ezra Klein Show
A Philosophy of Games That Is Really a Philosophy of Life

The Ezra Klein Show

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2022 72:53


When we play Monopoly or basketball, we know we are playing a game. The stakes are low. The rules are silly. The point system is arbitrary. But what if life is full of games — ones with much higher stakes — that we don't even realize we're playing?According to the philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, games and gamified systems are everywhere in modern life. Social media applies the lure of a points-based scoring system to the complex act of communication. Fitness apps convert the joy and beauty of physical motion into a set of statistics you can monitor. The grades you received in school flatten the qualitative richness of education into a numerical competition. If you've ever consulted the U.S. News & World Report college rankings database, you've witnessed the leaderboard approach to university admissions.In Nguyen's book, “Games: Agency as Art,” a core insight is that we're not simply playing these games — they are playing us, too. Our desires, motivations and behaviors are constantly being shaped and reshaped by incentives and systems that we aren't even aware of. Whether on the internet or in the vast bureaucracies that structure our lives, we find ourselves stuck playing games over and over again that we may not even want to win — and that we aren't able to easily walk away from.This is one of those conversations that offers a new and surprising lens for understanding the world. We discuss the unique magic of activities like rock climbing and playing board games, how Twitter's system of likes and retweets is polluting modern politics, why governments and bureaucracies love tidy packets of information, how echo chambers like QAnon bring comfort to their “players,” how to make sure we don't get stuck in a game without realizing it, why we should be a little suspicious of things that give us pleasure and how to safeguard our own values in a world that wants us to care about winning the most points.Mentioned:How Twitter Gamifies Communication by C. Thi NguyenTrust in Numbers by Theodore M. PorterSeeing Like a State by James C. Scott“Against Rotten Tomatoes” by Matt Strohl“A Game Designer's Analysis Of QAnon” by Reed BerkowitzThe Great Endarkenment by Elijah MillgramGame recommendations:Modern ArtRootThe Quiet YearThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.“The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rogé Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld; audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Our executive producer is Irene Noguchi. Special thanks to Kristin Lin.

Factually! with Adam Conover
The Philosophy of Games with C. Thi Nguyen

Factually! with Adam Conover

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2022 76:00


Playing games is a fundamental human activity. But despite their ubiquity, they've never gotten the serious study from scholars they deserve. Why do we play them? And what, exactly, ARE games? On the show this week is C. Thi Nguyen, philosophy professor at University of Utah, and author of the book, Games: Agency as Art. Check it out at  factuallypod.com/books. You can also find the first chapter free online here: https://philpapers.org/go.pl?id=NGUTAO-8&aid=NGUTAO-8v1. 

The Bunker
Daily: Wordle Gets Around - Why Tiles Took Over Twitter

The Bunker

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2022 29:49


If you've been on Twitter in the past month, you might have heard of ‘Wordle', the new Mastermind meets Scrabble game taking the world by storm. Over 300,000 now play everyday, but how did it become such a phenomenon? C. Thi Nguyen, philosophy professor at the University of Utah and author of Games: Agency as Art, talks Alex Andreou about why Wordle has proven such a hit, from its simple design to the joy of shareability. “A lot of the most interesting games are confined.” “The thing that makes Wordle so unique is the shareablility.” “I was seeing people sharing these square stacks and wondered what it was.” “Games are an activity and a struggle, but they're a struggle that we shape for our own enjoyment.” “The real effect of the ‘one-puzzle-a-day' is the social effect. You can see and feel how others found the puzzle.” Presented by Alex Andreou. The group editor is Andrew Harrison. The Lead Producer is Jacob Jarvis. Producers: Jacob Archbold and Jelena Sofronijevic. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ethics and Video Games Podcast
Episode 34 – How Games Can Make Us More & Less Free (with C. Thi Nguyen)

Ethics and Video Games Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2022 63:41


One way to think about games is as experiences tailored to give us agency – to provide us with clear values and motivations and then force us to overcome obstacles in pursuit of those values and motivations.  Engaging our agency in a variety of ways, games can make us more free, but in ways that also pose interesting new dangers for us. --------------------------- Our guest is C. Thi Nguyen, who used to be a food writer, but now is a philosophy professor at University of Utah. He writes about trust, art, games, and communities. He's interested in the ways that our social structures and technologies shape how we think and what we value. His first book is Games: Agency as Art. It was awarded the American Philosophical Associations 2021 Book Prize. It's about how games are the art form that work in the medium of agency.  --------------------------- Follow/like us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube  You can find all of our episodes, videos, and the Video Games Ethics Resources Center at our website https://ethicsandvideogames.com We're always looking for new ethical issues to explore in future podcasts, so if you've got an idea or an ethical issue involving video games that you think would make for a good podcast, please let us know!  Contact us at ethicsandvideogames.com or email us at contact@ethicsandvideogames.com.  We'd love to hear from you! Hosted by Shlomo Sher, Ph.D. and Andy Ashcraft Production by Carmen Elena Mitchell Music and graphics by Daniel Sher

Decision Space
Episode 50! (Mission Planning 10 Games We Want to Explore in 2022 and Aspirations)

Decision Space

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2022 59:34


Click on the link to join our active and welcoming Discord community!    Episode 50 - Mission Planning 10 Games We Want to Explore in 2022, Podcast Aspiration, Book Club, and a Big Announcement Our biggest milestone yet -- episode 50! In this episode, we do a little pre-planning of our own and discuss 10 we want to cover imminently in 2022. We also share our podcast aspirations for 2022. If that wasn't enough, we have two announcements. For one, we will be starting the first ever Decision Space book club and reading Games: Agency as Art by C. Thi Nguyen. (More information in the Decision Space discord.) But before all that, we start the show with a bang with our big announcement. Decision Space is officially on Patreon! That's right, you can officially join the crew. We spent a lot of time thinking through the perks and how we can add value, so if you are interested at all, I hope you will consider supporting us if you are financially able to do so!

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
169 | C. Thi Nguyen on Games, Art, Values, and Agency

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2021 84:12


Games are everywhere, but why exactly do we play them? It seems counterintuitive, to artificially invent goals and obstacles just so we can struggle to achieve them. (And in some games, like Twister, the fun is in losing, even though you're supposed to try to win.) C. Thi Nguyen is a philosopher who has developed a theory of games as an art form whose medium is agency. Within each game, we have defined goals, powers, and choices, and by playing different games we can experiment with different forms of agency. A dark side of this idea is to be found in “gamification” — turning ordinary-life activities into a game. Games give us clarity of values, and that clarity can be seductive but misleading, leading people to turn to conspiracy theories about the real world.Support Mindscape on Patreon.C. Thi Nguyen received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently associate professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah. He has written public philosophy for venues such as Aeon and The New York Times, and is an editor of the aesthetics blog Aesthetics for Birds. He was the recipient of the 2020 Article Prize from the American Philosophical Association. His recent book is Games: Agency as Art.Web sitePhilPeople profileGoogle Scholar publicationsTwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

FUTURE FOSSILS
175 - C. Thi Nguyen on The Seductions of Clarity, Weaponized Games, and Agency as Art

FUTURE FOSSILS

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 13, 2021 87:30


This week I talk to philosopher C. Thi Nguyen (objectionable.com | @add_hawk) of the University of Utah, author of Games: Agency as Art and many fascinating papers on social knowledge and the psychology of games, transparency in society, and the philosophy of science — the very philosophical concerns with which I'm obsessed and to which I have devoted much of this show. I met him at Diverse Intelligences Summer Institute this July and immediately knew I had to have him on for what turned out to be one of my favorites yet. Get ready to unravel what you think you know about the ways you come to your decisions, allocate your trust, and sort the chaos of experience…Due to some inexplicable technical nonsense I can't add the full liner notes here, so please find extensive additional resources (including all of the papers, books, and podcasts we mention) at Patreon (where, by the way, your membership grants you extra podcasts each month, book club calls, and early access to new writing, art, and music).✨ Support the work that goes into Future Fossils• Venmo: @futurefossils• PayPal.me/michaelgarfield• BTC: 1At2LQbkQmgDugkchkP6QkDJCvJ5rv3Jm• ETH: 0xfD2BC66586FA4FBA189992E9B0037CD5cb9673EF• NFTs: Rarible | Foundation | Voice✨ Music by Skytree“Navigator” & “Silmaril” off Infraplanetary Get bonus content on PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/futurefossils. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ben Yeoh Chats
C Thi Nguyen on games philosophy, agency, real world gamification and what drinking games tell you about humanity

Ben Yeoh Chats

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2021 68:54


I chat with C. Thi Nguyen who used to be a food writer and is now a philosophy professor at University of Utah. Thi thinks about trust, art, games, and communities. We discuss his first book, Games: Agency as Art. The book is about how games are the art form that work in the medium of agency. We chat about the difference between play and games and wider games philosophy. Thi worries about the problems on trusting experts, if oneself is not an expert and how none of us are experts in most domains. We discuss making tea, process art and how we should be thinking about making food. Fascinating topics across food and philosophy. Transcript and links available here. Contents and Youtube links below. 06:13 Thi on Gamification 12:15 Thi on Trust and what to be worried about a gamified system 16:25 Thi on philosophy of expertise and the challenge of finding experts to trust 20:58 Thi on board games recommendations 26:05 Is “play” better or “games” better? Thi answers on how games are different from play. 31:20 The importance of drinking games 34:13 The four types of games 36:35 How constraints are useful 45:47 What is process art 50:02 Games and cooking 57:39 How to make tea 1:02:16 Thi on creative productivity (don't kill the weird ideas)

Overthink
Games and Gamification (feat. C. Thi Nguyen)

Overthink

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2021 54:51 Transcription Available


In episode 23 of Overthink, Ellie, and David sit down with philosopher Dr. C. Thi Nguyen to discuss his work on games and gamification. They begin by their love for The Sims and the out-of-body experiences video games can trigger. From there, they get into the works of thinkers including  Ortega y Gasset, Nietzsche, Mill, Gadamer, discussing their theories on games and motivation. The trio also jumps into the function of games in community, how British and American drinking games differ, motivational states, Thi's epic game nights, and more.Works Discussed:C. Thi Nguyen, Games: Agency as ArtRoger Callois, Man, Play and GamesHans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and MethodFriedrich Nietzsche, The Birth of TragedyJosé Ortega y Gasset, Meditations on HuntingGordon Burghardt, The Genesis of Animal PlayMatthew Broersma, “US Military Recruits Gamers To Fly Killer Drones”Website | overthinkpodcast.comInstagram & Twitter | @overthink_podEmail |  Dearoverthink@gmail.comYouTube | Overthink podcast

Critical Distance Confab
Keywords in Play Episode 10 - Thi Nguyen

Critical Distance Confab

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2021 27:49


C. Thi Nguyen is a former food writer, now a philosophy professor at University of Utah. He writes about trust, art, games, and communities, and is interested in the ways that our social structures and technologies shape how we think and what we value. His first book is Games: Agency as Art. It's about how games are the art form that work in the medium of agency. A game designer doesn't just create a world – they create who we are in that world. Games shape temporary agencies for artistic purposes. And games turn out to be our way of writing down and communicating modes of agency; by playing them, we can try out different forms of agency.  (Here's a summary of the book and Thi's website is https://objectionable.net/.) “Keywords in Play” is a monthly interview series about game research supported by Critical Distance and the Digital Games Research Association. As a joint venture, “Keywords in Play” expands Critical Distance's commitment to innovative writing and research about games while using a conversational style to bring new and diverse scholarship to a wider audience. Our goal is to highlight the work of graduate students, early career researchers and scholars from under-represented groups, backgrounds and regions. The primary inspiration comes from sociologist and critic Raymond Williams. In the Preface to his book Keywords: a vocabulary of culture and society, Williams envisaged not a static dictionary but an interactive document, encouraging readers to populate blank pages with their own keywords, notes and amendments. “Keywords in Play” follows Williams in affirming that “The significance is in the selection”, and works towards diversifying the critical terms with which we describe games and game culture. For more on games writing and culture please visit https://www.critical-distance.com/

Ludens
#1 Con Paula Velasco sobre estética y videojuegos

Ludens

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2021 51:11


El episodio piloto de Ludens ha contado con la participación de Paula Velasco (@PaluVelasco), licenciada en bellas artes y comunicación audiovisual, y doctora en filosofía con especialidad en estética y teoría de las artes. Hablamos con ella acerca de su relación con la comunidad de Game Studies, sus líneas de trabajo y a lo que se dedica en estos momentos. Paula también traza algunas pinceladas acerca de Ideological Games, un libro sobre el que sin duda volveremos con mayor calma en algún episodio posterior.- Ideological Games en la editorial Héroes de Papel - (https://www.heroesdepapel.es/product.php?id=139)- C. Thi Nguyen, Games Agency and Art -https://global.oup.com/academic/product/games-9780190052089?cc=es&lang=en&Créditos del tema introductorio: Ryan Andersen - https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ryan_Andersen

Philosophica
512: What's in a Game?

Philosophica

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2020 11:50


Podcast: Philosophy Talk Starters (LS 39 · TOP 2% what is this?)Episode: 512: What's in a Game?Pub date: 2020-10-23More at https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/whats-game. Games have been an integral part of human society since the earliest civilizations. They are played around the world by people at every rank and station, at every stage of life, from childhood to old age. Why do we love games so much? Are they just a pleasant way of whiling away some empty hours or escaping the daily grind? Or do we play games to form social bonds and build important life skills? Are there some games we should never play? And what exactly makes something a “game” in the first place? Josh and Ray team up with Thi Nguyen from the University of Utah, author of "Games: Agency as Art."The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Philosophy Talk Starters, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.

In Conversation: An OUP Podcast
C. Thi Nguyen, "Games: Agency as Art" (Oxford UP, 2020)

In Conversation: An OUP Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2020 67:25


Monopoly, Solitaire, football and Minecraft are all games, but for C. Thi Nyugen they are also an art form – specifically, the art form of agency, our capacity to set goals and pursue them. In Games: Agency as Art (Oxford UP, 2020), Nguyen argues that a game designer sculpts agency by specifying the goals and abilities of the potential player – what the player should care about and what their abilities are in the game environment. The resulting disposable ends and interesting struggles yields valuable aesthetic experiences that enhance our capacities for autonomous agency. Yet Nyugen, an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Utah, also warns of the harmful effects of the gamification of real life, when the simple goals and motivations in games leak into our real- world agency and can lead to social and moral disaster.