Richard Hautala

2016-03-02 19:11:04 -0500

Great first show Lauren.

One never knows where things will lead in this type of one-on-one. Your point was a good one about “nature vs nurture” and of course this is a controversial topic in society (though it shouldn’t be). As a teacher that has worked with kids from all over the world for more than 30 years, there is no doubt in my mind that there is a natural difference between girls and boys.



The message that girls are discriminated against in the game industry is simply false. Sure they will play games, but as you pointed out, they prefer social and puzzle type games. All I have to do to prove this is to allow my students to pick a game during free time in the computer lab at our school. Depending on the age, the games will vary, but the type does not. There are clear gender preferences.



Also most girls would rather actually socialize than play on the computer after a certain point. The boys on the other hand often tell me they spend entire weekends playing video games (and often stay up all night doing it). I think that indicates a natural gender bias as well. It simply is not as important/interesting for girls (granted I have a daughter who like to shoot zombies in Call of Duty – just not for lengthy periods of time). I also remember when I bought a driving game for my kids (2 boys, one girl -Midtown Madness by MS) when they were under 10. Both boys tried to do the races and challenges to beat their scores. My daughter just loved trying to run people over…and watching them dive out of the way of her car (thankfully she is a actually a very good driver now that she has her license).



Again, great first show. I am sure there will be more “antagonistic” guests in the future, but I am not looking for that (maybe some viewers are? – there are enough of those kind of shows in my opinion). Hopefully your future guests will be as willing to dialog on controversial issues as Adam was.

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