Turning Research Into a Fun, Silly Game: Why Gamification Changes Everything For Scientific Research

R3ciprocity.com - Prof David Maslach: Innovation; Research Life; Striving Towards Happiness · Mar 8, 2025 · 10m

What if we made research fun and enjoyable instead of a grind? The whole process could be a ‘fun, silly game’—just like how some of the most successful researchers already gamify it in their heads. Right now, the system ‘fundamentally sucks,’ built on the idea that if you don’t make it, you’re just ‘not good enough.’ But that’s not true. The problem isn’t talent—it’s that the journey is filled with roadblocks that make people quit. What if we flipped the system? What if we made research engaging, rewarding, and full of support instead of a brutal endurance test? Let’s rethink how we do this.