It feels awesome to have outside validation that what you are doing (or in this case, trying to do) is a truly innovative technique. The crew at Phoenix who use Gamification to influence their classroom dynamics are really dedicated to finding something that works for our students.
Our kids despised their traditional schools and either actively rebelled or were forgotten in the noise created by the normal Traditional School models in JCPS. By changing our pedagogy to match structures they use for fun, we've used our understanding of our audience to improve their buy-in in a really important way. I'm stoked to get to present with the Phoenix team this July! Woot!
I think the engine is another example of "macroscopic quantum phenomena", similar to "superfluids" or "superconductivity" under extreme scenarios (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroscopic_quantum_phenomena).
It reminds me of the sort of controlled situation in which these other phenomena are occurring.