In today’s America, there are more World of Warcraft players than farmers.
Hat tip to Paul Krugman.
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/20/the-real-america/

Discussion topics include:
- Awe at wealth and the leisure it produces
- Disconnection between man and nature
- Dumbing down of mass culture
- Ever smaller percentage of Americans enjoying agricultural subsidies

10/23/2007 3:02:07 PM

Thats cause they all live in China, duh.

10/23/2007 3:07:44 PM

horrible comparison.


It's like saying, in today's America, there are more pennies than one-thousand dollar bills.

[Edited on October 23, 2007 at 3:09 PM. Reason : .]

10/23/2007 3:09:02 PM

^now that's a horrible comparison.

10/23/2007 3:45:08 PM

Last week, my wife challenged me to finish a whole book. I counter-challenged my wife to finish a whole video game.

The bet is on!

10/23/2007 3:47:41 PM

I'm surprised that LoneSnark reads Paul Krugman. He isn't exactly a laissez faire economist.

10/23/2007 3:51:30 PM

i was actually surprised at that as well.

10/23/2007 4:11:43 PM

That probably doesn't account for the the vast number of players of WoW who are in Korea and China as gold farmers. But that's ok, expecting him to understand the inside workings of the WoW population would be as ridiculous as making a random comparison between a popular video game and farmers.

I could also say that more people watched Friends than were farmers, or that more people read the paper than are farmers.

10/23/2007 4:13:43 PM

Quote :

"^now that's a horrible comparison."

My correlation is that there are intrinsically more pennies than one-thousand dollar bills because pennies are worth less and easier to come by.

Anyone with a computer (a majority of the nation) has the capability to play world of warcraft. A small minority of the population has the capability to become a farmer.

It's an apples/oranges comparison.

^^ exactly.

[Edited on October 23, 2007 at 4:14 PM. Reason : .]

10/23/2007 4:13:53 PM

Hence the relevance. Technology rocks.

Back before technology most Americans were farmers and none of them had computers.

10/23/2007 8:06:22 PM

Quote :

"Back before technology most Americans were farmers and none of them had computers."

I agree with you, but that's a funny thing to say. Do you imagine something like this happened?

Nineteenth-century scientist: "Holy shit! I just invented technology!"
Assistant: "Sweet. Get to work on computers, will you?"

10/23/2007 8:12:45 PM

Quote :

"- Disconnection between man and nature"

I wouldn't say that. I play a druid.

10/23/2007 8:37:59 PM

What if your character on WoW is a farmer?

10/23/2007 8:43:23 PM

Why can't someone be both? Tend crops during the day and be on to play WoW in the evening/night. I really don't see the two as being mutually exclusive. When I get a bit better established and get some land to tend I doubt I will lose my fondness of gaming.

10/23/2007 8:51:10 PM

This poll isn't fair to the Amish.

10/23/2007 8:53:21 PM

i'm pretty sure there are more people in the armed forces than farmers too. wtf is the point?

10/23/2007 9:24:49 PM

my point exactly. This has the making of a horrible thread. This is not something that LoneSnark is a habitual offender of... so I'll let this slide.

10/23/2007 10:41:06 PM

I'm a farmer of math.

10/23/2007 10:52:48 PM