I see RPGs as a good release. Yes, you can do some of those things you wish you could in real life. Getting up on the table at a business conference with sword in hand would be a lot of fun, but only for about 5 mins, and the resulting repurcussions would suck hard. In an RPG, however, it's just another day at the office.
I think a great RPG question is "do you play characters like you or different from you, and to what degree of difference?"
RPGs are great for puzzles, mental relaxation, etc, but the ability to *assume* the viewpoint and life of someone else always serves to educate me about both myself and about others.
