Sweet Vindication
Malcolm Gladwell, the uber-author of the 21st century (and my co-contributor's personal god), endowed with a special gift for writing in an easy-going, plain folks style, has published an article that will undoubtedly vindicate millions of video-game addicts. He writes about a new book published by Steven Johnson, entitled Everything Bad is Good for You.
The premise of the book is based on the notion that James Flynn uncovered in the mid-eighties, that human beings were consistently increasing their IQ scores over time. More specifically, "a person whose I.Q. placed him in the top ten per cent of the American population in 1920 would today fall in the bottom third." Flynn mentions a number of explanations for this rise including economic prosperity, better nutrition, etc... but Mr. Johnson attributes at least some of the consistent IQ gains to the evolution of pop culture and video games (yeesssssssssssssssss!!!)
Johnson lists the complicated nature of popular television shows (like the sopranos, the simpsons, seinfeld, etc.) which force the viewer to play an active role in following multiple plot lines and character development. These cognitive demands on viewers, Johnson posits, allow them to to increase intelligence.
Even more interesting, is the capacity of video games to increase intelligence. Johnson juxtaposes video games with books, which are consistently mentioned as a more refined way to past time. Books are fairly linear, the author argues, which doesn't give the reader the opportunity to participate in the narrative in a meaningful way. I was watching "What the Bleep Do We Know" and one of the eerie talking heads, mentioned that individuals who grow up in contemporary culture want to be creators. Expansive video games (like the oft-mentioned Grand Theft Auto series, and the criminally underrated Mercenaries) gives players the opportunity to create their own narrative (within certain boundries of course). More eloquently put:
The premise of the book is based on the notion that James Flynn uncovered in the mid-eighties, that human beings were consistently increasing their IQ scores over time. More specifically, "a person whose I.Q. placed him in the top ten per cent of the American population in 1920 would today fall in the bottom third." Flynn mentions a number of explanations for this rise including economic prosperity, better nutrition, etc... but Mr. Johnson attributes at least some of the consistent IQ gains to the evolution of pop culture and video games (yeesssssssssssssssss!!!)
Johnson lists the complicated nature of popular television shows (like the sopranos, the simpsons, seinfeld, etc.) which force the viewer to play an active role in following multiple plot lines and character development. These cognitive demands on viewers, Johnson posits, allow them to to increase intelligence.
Even more interesting, is the capacity of video games to increase intelligence. Johnson juxtaposes video games with books, which are consistently mentioned as a more refined way to past time. Books are fairly linear, the author argues, which doesn't give the reader the opportunity to participate in the narrative in a meaningful way. I was watching "What the Bleep Do We Know" and one of the eerie talking heads, mentioned that individuals who grow up in contemporary culture want to be creators. Expansive video games (like the oft-mentioned Grand Theft Auto series, and the criminally underrated Mercenaries) gives players the opportunity to create their own narrative (within certain boundries of course). More eloquently put:
"Playing a video game is, in fact, an exercise in constructing the proper
hierarchy of tasks and moving through the tasks in the correct sequence. It’s
about finding order and meaning in the world, and making decisions that help
create that order."
So go to sleep clutching your video game controllers a little more tightly tonight kiddies... The end is extremely fucking neigh (video games being acknowledged as a tool for increasing intelligence, has to be the 1st sign of the apocalypse)...
posted by The Generalist at 1:00 PM
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This posting DOES necessarily reflect, and is consistent with, the views of the co-contributor to this blog site. This serves as my expressed written consent.
and...
I am my own reader.
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