At a Bitcoin-themed escape room in Lebanon's capital Beirut, it's all fun and games until you take the orange pill.
Bitcoin (BTC) sets people free. At least, that was the story at Lebanon’s first Bitcoin-themed escape room in Beirut.
Lebanese Bitcoiners from the group Bitcoin du Liban took on the latest Bitcoin education challenge — Bitcoin Escape the System. The best part? The team of four snuck out of the escape room in the fastest time to date.
For the uninitiated, an “escape game” or “escape room” is a team game
where players work together to solve puzzles, clues and conundrums
usually based on a theme such as spies, zombies, and now, Bitcoin. As
per the name, the mission is to “escape” the site of the game within a
certain time.
Sooly Kobayashi, MENA advisor for Swan Bitcoin and a
moderator at Bitcoin du Liban, told Cointelegraph that “All of us
(except one) had never played escape rooms before. We entered the room
without relying on our Bitcoin knowledge.”
However, they likely
had a slight advantage over those new to Bitcoin. The escape game’s
themes revolve around fiat money, time-chain technologies (commonly
referred to as blockchain), SHA-256 (the Bitcoin hashing algorithm), and
self-custody.
While
the escape game is a bit of fun, according to Sooly, it’s another
example of the Lebanese Bitcoin community’s creative approach to
onboarding more Bitcoiners. Sooly, who is also a Moderator at Bitcoin du
Liban, told Cointelegraph that “education is challenging in a country
that hasn't invested much in this sector.”
“And
with a history filled with instability, the Lebanese population has been
busy surviving in economic restlessness. Hence, Bitcoin education
needed a creative modern approach.”
As shown in
the following graph, government education expenditure in Lebanon pales
in comparison to that of Argentina; a country that also sufferers from
critical problems relating to inflation and instability.
It’s therefore on the people to take financial education, and creative
orange-pilling techniques, into their own hands with grassroots
activities.
Indeed, Bitcoiners from Lebanon to Slovakia are taking Bitcoin education by the scruff of the neck, seeking to spread the word of sound money. Bitcoin books, games and even family-friendly days out are spaces for Bitcoin veterans or those new to the tech to learn in ways that suit them best.
For
the escape game, due to the at times high-stress, adrenaline-fuelled
nature of escape games (if you know you know), it’s possible that
participants absorb information quicker and retain it longer. As a
result, a Bitcoin-themed escape game could be a quirky yet quick way of
educating people about Bitcoin. Sooly explains:
“It's
been scientifically proven that humans learn better in two scenarios.
First, when we are emotionally driven. [...] Second, when we are
expected to pass on information to someone else, our minds tend to focus
and memorize knowledge better.”
Related: Jack Dorsey and Jay-Z collaborate on Bitcoin Brooklyn educational program
To
date, the escape room founder, Said Nassar, an international business
engineer, had only seen a “few” Bitcoiners play the game. Despite the
Bitcoin-friendly appeal, the game had been enjoyed by newcomers to
Bitcoin, or “no-coiners,” as they are sometimes known.
Sooly adds that some of the players are "shitcoiners," including individuals interested in Ethereum (ETH):
No one would play this escape room and not learn about Bitcoin.”
For
some Bitcoiners, there's an irony to exiting a Bitcoin escape room. To
some, the whole world may already feel like an escape room, and Bitcoin
is the only way out. The Bitcoin Escape the System joins a fledgling list of Bitcoin-themed escape rooms, including The Bitcoin Heist in Macedonia, and the DIY Bitcoin escape room, Badass Daddy's Bitcoins.
source link : https://cointelegraph.com/news/mind-games-bitcoin-education-at-an-escape-room-in-lebanon
