Name: C. Thi Nguyen, “The Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else’s Game”
Start: 2026-02-04T15:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-02-04T16:30:00-07:00
Location: The Obert C. & Grace A. Tanner Humanities Center Jewel Box

$C. Thi Nguyen, \u201cThe Score: How to Stop Playing Somebody Else\u2019s Game\u201d$

University of Utah philosopher presents new book on gamification and scoring in everyday life
About this Event

Philosopher analyzes the effects of games and scoring systems on human values and behavior. In his new book published by Penguin, , Nguyen shows how different forms of games and play—from video games and sports to cooking or gardening—can enhance human development and meaning. He contrasts this potential with the growing role of metrics and rankings in workplaces, schools, governments, and everyday decision-making. These systems, he argues, can make us outsource our values and interests to external authorities. In developing ideas like value capture and the gamification of modern life, he invites audiences to consider when scores and metrics can be rewarding, or alienating.

Nguyen is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah. He is the author of , published by Oxford University Press, and an editor at .