I roll to disbelieve

[gridlore]

Army frowns on Dungeons and Dragons. IDF says players are detached from reality and automatically given a low security clearance

Does the Israel Defense Forces believe incoming recruits and soldiers who play Dungeons and Dragons are unfit for elite units? Ynet has learned that 18-year-olds who tell recruiters they play the popular fantasy game are automatically given low security clearance.

“They're detached from reality and susceptible to influence,” the army says.

Fans of the popular roleplaying game had spoken of rumors of this strange policy by the IDF, but now the army has confirmed that it has a negative image of teens who play the game and labels them as problematic in regard to their draft status.

So if you like fantasy games, go see the military psychologist.

Oy. Never mind that gamers tend to have better problem-solving skills, and better imaginations, than non-gamers. We're weirdos, so screw your military career!

I will refrain on commenting on a nation that claims to have a divine claim on its land having a problem with other people's fantasies.. whoops, too late.

Comments

Go in to see the shrink, wherever you are...

[firestrike.livejournal.com]

Shrink, I wanna game. I mean, I wanna game. I want to roll to hit and make saving throws and slay the princess and rescue the dragon and feed halflings to giant sharks. I mean game. Game. Game! GAME!

...They'll think they're both gamers and they won't take either of 'em...

-M

Re: Go in to see the shrink, wherever you are...

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

ROTFLMAO!!!!

Re: Go in to see the shrink, wherever you are...

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

And the GM came over, pinned a con badge on my chest, sent me down the hall, said "You're our boy."

Re: Go in to see the shrink, wherever you are...

[collie13.livejournal.com]

I'm moving down one video game away from you, buddy... ;)

[thingunderthest.livejournal.com]

Yeah, nobody ever does tactical simulations or uses game theory.

Full Frontal Nerdity (http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/nodwick/ffn/ffn.htm)

[drewkitty.livejournal.com]

Apparently, the IDF had no trouble with fantasy when Israeli air and sea units fired on a United States ship and killed United States sailors in the USS Liberty incident (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident).

I should probably add that given the poor senses of humor and weak moral character of some of the IDF's senior leadership, I am not at all surprised. Disgusted, but not surprised. This bias begins to explain why the Israeli intelligence apparat, while strong in many areas, is weak on innovation.

Operations people have never liked intelligence people, and the strongest intel people I know can hold many levels of potential reality in their heads, correlating as needed.

Fantasizing that the map is the territory can lose you the war, and Israel doesn't have room to lose a single battle. I strongly hope that the IDF reconsiders, or at least has the wisdom to "double-dip" some of these gamers into intelligence operations.

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

"Never mind that gamers tend to have better problem-solving skills, and better imaginations, than non-gamers."

The military has never noticed that problem-solving skills and imagination to be a plus in draftees. The military wants nothing more than quiet obedience to orders. They will solve all your problems and if they want you to have an imagination, they'll issue you one.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but they were talking about denying high level clearance positions to gamers, not just keeping them out of the draft.

re divine claim

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

It is written that Abraham bought the first chunk of it commercially, and Hebrew holdings were later increased by Jabez and others. it's the return to that land that is more properly the subject of the promise in "promised land"