Although he works 80 to 100 hours a week, Elon Musk somehow finds time to game. Like a lot of guys, the PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX founder likes first-person shooters, as well as empire building games — here’s Elon Musk’s take on the best games ever, his personal top five game of all time.
How do we know? Elon Musk recently went on Reddit for an AMA, or “Ask Me Anything” (one to many), interview. Therein, he answered dozens of questions, including:
Q. What is your favorite video game?
A. Hard to pick a favorite. I tend to like FPS with a story, like Bioshock, Fallout or Mass Effect, but was also a big fan of Civ and Warcraft.
So, do you still wonder why Iron Man (aka Tony Stark) was modeled Elon Musk, a shoot first and question later kind of billionaire gamer who also likes empire/civilization building titles? Yeah, Elon Musk is pretty much a “guy’s guy”.
Elon Musk: Gaming Imitates Life
And, what about that bent for empire building games, a la Civilization? His thinking and how he pursues real life has obviously been colored by the games he plays and, just as likely, vice versa.
“It is important to view knowledge as sort of a semantic tree,” he said. “Make sure you understand the fundamental principles, ie the trunk and big branches, before you get into the leaves/details or there is nothing for them to hang on to.”
Sound familiar? That’s how knowledge and technology discovery build upon each other in two of Musk’s favorite games, Civilization and Warcraft.
That said, given that Elon Musk can manage to play some Bioshock, Fallout, Mass Effect, Civ and Warcraft while working 80 to 100 hours a week, I certainly can fit a little more gaming into my life…
What’s your take?
Via Washington Post, Top Image: The Atlantic, Center Image: BusinessInsider