Is Gaming a Waste of Time?

Looking at my gaming experience I would say that I did not waste that much of a time. As a matter of fact I learned quiet a few things.

1/English : At the age of 8 I had basic english knowledge. Then I started playing Another World, Doom 1 & Wolfenstein 3D (Yeah I am that old ). Basically It
2/ Geography : I was a big fan of Supreme Ruler 2020, A game in which you take control of a whole country.
3/ Micro-economics & Macro-economics : The early anno series (1601) & Capitalism 2.
4/Guns, GUNS & MORE GUNS : Counter-Strike (beta version 1999 to 1.6) : I used to play for an e-Sport team. learned a lot about guns, calibers, ammo & stuff.
5/Basic Aerodynamics : Flight Simulator 2000 was a game that I played for many many hours.

Eventually, when you end up playing many games , from different genres, for a long period of time, you get to understand a lot about Game Design & Game Mechanics. When the game engine Unity 3D was rolled out, it was quiet easy to prototype a couple of casual games with the engine.