Playing video games doesn’t make you a better person. But that’s not the point

You take part in a game in a way unequalled by reading a book or watching a play

At a debate on technology and the future a few months ago, the panel chair confronted me with the line: "It turns out computer games merely teach you how to play other computer games." What did I make of this, as a novelist? Wasn't it damning? If true, didn't it - the question implied - prove that games are practically worthless?

Well, no. I've been puzzled for a long time by the modern tendency to try to justify life experiences by pointing to research about how they "make us better" in some way. You know the kind of thing. Walking in the countryside improves cardiovascular function by 14%. Believing in God increases lifespan by 2.6 years. Falling in love takes two swings off your golf stroke. (Note: some of these may be made up.) As if there are no other - important, immeasurable - reasons to go for an autumnal stroll or find a life partner. As if you should try to make yourself do things you really don't want to do, like taking up religion, to reap the supposed "benefits".

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