I don't think you can claim for that to be untrue or unscientific. Rather, you don't agree with it. The official testimony from supposed experts is that there is no solid proof on the matter, but we have seen this said about many other things in the past that have not only been wrong, but clearly influenced by industry pressure or corruption. Like the link between cigarettes and cancer- among other things. Like some forms of food that we eat.
Good catch, it was a bit unscientific of
me to declare an absolute. To put up a token defense of my stance, the untrue/unscientific was directed at the specific claim that 'video games cause violence, as current evidence shows us' that the other person appeared to be making. From my current understanding of the research & debate, there is correlation evidence of increased aggressive behavior from individuals who play violent, or more usually, highly competitive games. The question is if violent video games (objective definition needed) is the prime cause of an individual performing violence.
In my opinion; It is a 'safe' claim that video games do not
cause violence, unless you are playing video games that injects you directly with some sort of steroid or 28 days later disease. At best, scientists will be able to show how the normalization of repetitive violent behaviors (or any behavior, really) will increase the likelihood that someone will act (or react) in a violent manner due to a shift in their brain chemistry. That shouldn't lead to any specific regulations on games, but hopefully will result in better health care for mental health issues. The claim of Columbine or other such tragedies being
caused by a music genre or a video game is absurd, but I also find the claim that video games have
zero effect on violent outbursts to be equally absurd. On the plus side, nobody is promoting video games (especially violent ones) as something 'healthy and cool' like cigarettes were, except maybe frat houses.
So yes, I don't agree with their argument, but I have enough training and knowledge that I can confidentially say that we should not worry that violent video games cause violence on the same level that cigarettes cause cancer, eggs may or may not be good for your cholesterol or how soy beans will destroy the patriarchy(That last one is satire, for the record). We already have a rating system that helps consumers make an informed decision on their purchases, so I'm not sure what else can be done other than promoting education and critical thinking.
To be fair, I can see how plundering can normalize the mentality to 'take others things and justify it' and I have enjoyed debating with fellow forum goers on the subject. I can also see how being plundered can create stress for a player. I don't think plundering causes the 'violent' outbursts we see on the forums, I believe it is the lack of a players ability to cope with the plundering system that leads them to stress, which leads to an outburst. Outbursts are met with ridicule, which is stressful, triggers a defensive response and the cycle continues.
*Looks at the length of the screed written this time* Well, that was a lot of unpacking.
@nighthawk28 Sorry to hear your residential got pillaged. Think of them like kleptomaniacs, the need to pillage is pathological!