TV and Video games make you SMARTER?
 

(Yet another gem I found when researching update materials for my blog network. Enjoy)

Synopsis: To explain the recent trend of rising IQ scores, some commentators turn to popular culture as a causative factor.


http://csmonitor.com/2005/0603/p12s01-bogn.htm

He makes the case that popular culture has become more intellectually challenging in the past 30 years, and is possibly increasing people's IQs.

To make his point, Johnson compares TV shows like "Starsky and Hutch" to "The Sopranos." The '70s cop show had one plot line throughout, whereas an episode of "The Sopranos" often has as many as 10 threads. A show like "24," he writes, "makes the viewer think in ways that earlier shows never dared; it makes them analyze complex situations, track social networks, fill in information withheld by the creators."

The same changes are true in video games, such as SimCity (a city simulation), which require more time and thought than using a joystick to help Mr. PacMan eat through a series of dots. The more complex technology gets, the more kids demand from their entertainment, he suggests, forcing all of pop culture to be more challenging to compete.

One person's critique of this "theory":

Gummi bears were introduced in the US in 1982.

US life expectency in 1982: 74.5years.
US life expectency in 2001: 77.2 years.

Therefore, obviously via the Johnson / Gladwell school of argument (although this post is better researched than anything Gladwell ever wrote), Gummi bears are helping to extend our lives. Look for my new book "Yes, I'd Like Another Scoop Of Lard On That: How Today's Popular Cuisine Is Making Us Healthier" in a bookstore near you.


LOL!

Video games: Yes, absolutely. Advanced problem solving skills are cultivated even in very young children by the difficulty in most of the mission or quest-based games. To achieve the objective, children force themselves to learn multiple ways to accomplish a task, prioritizing of goals, and resource management.

Television: No. Mind-numbing picture box unless it's set specifically to educational programming (PBS, Sesame Street, etc).

It is pretty interesting how the author compares "Starsky & Hutch" to the "Sopranos". lol

http://www.lethaldeath.com/Crimson/I...Season%202.jpg

vs.

http://www.crazewire.com/artwork/fea...w.sopranos.jpg