Truemors
is reporting from
Member
NP Rank:
NP Rank:
Virtual game is a 'disease model'
Share:
by generaldecay | August 20, 2007 at 11:33 pm
457 views | 24 Recommendations | 6 comments
I heard one of the researchers on this project on BBC Radio 4 this morning. The basic premise of the research is that by studying how disease spreads on an online game (WoW), we can learn about how it spreads in real life. I found this to be a fascinating concept, and one which again highlights the many powers that technology and the internet afford us in this age.
There are limitations too, of course. For example, one of the groups of sufferers identified in the study (in WoW) were 'the curious' - those who caught the disease because they were being overly-curious about those who already had it. In an online game, this is very possible; but in real life, most of us would be much more careful about exploring our 'curiosities'.
Nonetheless, I think this is a truly innovative and informative research strategy and I'm interested now in hearing about other ways in which technology could assist real life research.
An outbreak of a deadly disease in a virtual world can offer insights into real life epidemics, scientists suggest.The "corrupted blood" disease spread rapidly within the popular online World of Warcraft game, killing off thousands of players in an uncontrolled plague.
The infection raged, wreaking social chaos, despite quarantine measures.
What is NowPublic?
NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
at 04:59 on August 21st, 2007
I remember reading about that plague -- didn't they manage to infect on of the characters' pets and then set it free in a city or something? Anyway, good stuff.
at 05:03 on August 21st, 2007
I didn't hear about that bit, Brian, but you could well be right.
Thanks. :)
at 08:36 on August 21st, 2007
I wonder how they'd compensate for mass transit; to my knowledge, those flying dragon-things don't have coach-class, but are more like the Learjets of the WoW world...
at 08:54 on August 21st, 2007
Well now clearly you're a man who knows his WoW. I'm not familiar with the ins and outs of it at all. In fact, I'm not actually familiar with any of it at all, really. Well, I know that people spend DAYS playing it and, erm, killing people.
at 13:49 on August 21st, 2007
Well, I think the flow of people in WoW is quite different from the real world. At least it's possible to "beam" (hearthstone, summoning, ...)
at 00:27 on August 22nd, 2007
I think those differences into their model, but were of the belief that the interactions in WoW mirrored those in real life more or less.