The Last of Us Taught Me What an Alternator Is
Despite their ever-increasing popularity and growing significance in pop culture, many people still tend to shrug off video games as frivolous wastes of time. While there’s no denying that some of us do spend what could have been productive hours in the real world in favor of digital ones, I’d like to talk about the time The Last of Us taught me what an alternator is.
Strong enough to defy the apocalypse: The 2021 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
A brief backstory
In order for this story to make sense, there are a few key details to know. The first is that The Last of Us is a critically beloved 2013 video game that focuses on two characters named Joel and Ellie as they make their way across an America ravaged by a pandemic. In the fiction, a real-world fungus known as cordyceps has essentially made the country look like a zombie apocalypse.
The second is that I am what I like to call an “indoor child.” Sure, I played sports in school and mowed the lawn for my family, but I never got under the hood of a car to really figure out how it all worked.
Video games, alternators, and education
Let’s start in media res — Joel and Ellie have just found a way to access a working truck that can shorten their long trip from Boston to Salt Lake City. The only problem? The battery is dead. So Joel directs Ellie to get behind the wheel while he and an old friend push it down a decline just sharp enough to keep it moving. But why?
Well, that’s because the alternator is the component responsible for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. To put it in terms that I would have understood at the time, the alternator essentially uses the car’s motion to recharge the battery.
When I sat down to play The Last of Us for the first time nearly eight years ago, the last thing I expected was to gain legitimately useful knowledge. I was too wrapped up in the extraordinary narrative and characters to care. But I think there’s something to the idea of communicating valuable ideas with young people in a way that doesn’t pander but does speak their language.
Keep your ride running like new: Turn to service experts
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.