[jakegottlieb]

Whittling sounds like an evolutionary advantage. Imagine if humans hated to whittle; they would hate spending time collecting little things for a big reward. This could be as simple as collecting root vegetables to feed a stoneage family or creating a arrowhead. To me it seems whittling was an important part of evolving to where we are today. Small progress/steps to lead up to something great.

[niels_olson]

Sure, but the neurobiology of whittling is the polar opposite what we see in gamers. I speak as a doctor, kid who bought his own nintendo (back in the early 90s) and still proud owner of my original cub scout pocket knife.