View Full Version : I'm out to prove the world wrong!
According to most people I work with, video games make you stupid. But I like everyone else here knows the truth. Video games are actually good for you. What do you think?
digitalpress
08-01-2003, 10:13 PM
I think there should be more corn in the world.
I think socks are fun.
I think bashing two rocks together is good sound.
More thinking later. Brain hurt now.
SoulBlazer
08-01-2003, 10:16 PM
Heh, leave it to DP for a serious response. :D
It was early games like Civ and the Koei NES games that got me interested in History, though, which more then 10 years later climxed with me getting a BA in American History and graudating Summa Cum Laude. ;)
Heh, leave it to DP for a serious response. :D
It was early games like Civ and the Koei NES games that got me interested in History, though, which more then 10 years later climxed with me getting a BA in American History and graudating Summa Cum Laude. ;)
That's exactly what I'm talking about. I hated history until I played games like Age of Empires and similar ones. Now I love to hear every bit of history that I can get.
Taken from http://www.n8itude.com/get/injected/print.php?sid=273
Video Games make you SMART!
Date: Sunday, June 01 @ 04:47:18 Pacific Daylight Time
Topic: Pure Video Games
Jacked from: www.jsonline.com
In the 3-D virtual worlds that make up fast-action computer and video games, there are only two kinds of players: the quick and the dead.
Hesitation or distraction means a game's artificial intelligence - or an opponent on the Internet - gets the drop on you, and it's game over.
Parents or spouses watching their loved ones play these games might have thought that all those hours in front of a flickering screen were a waste of time.
But a study published today in the journal Nature suggests that these frenetic, adrenaline-infused electronic games help the people who play them think faster and more efficiently.
Researchers at the University of Rochester in New York found that young adults who regularly played action-packed electronic games such as "Half-Life: Counter-Strike" and "Halo" showed better visual skills compared with those who didn't. The study also says that players "have an increased ability to process information over time" and "an increase in attentional capacity."
These players were better at tracking objects appearing simultaneously and processing fast-changing visual information more efficiently, the study says.
"By forcing players to simultaneously juggle a number of varied tasks (detect new enemies, track existing enemies and avoid getting hurt, among others), action-video-game playing pushes the limits of three rather different aspects of visual attention," the study says.
The experiments focused on each subject's ability to recognize and interpret symbols and letters after playing electronic games, and even people who had not played games in the past but were trained to play them showed enhanced visual abilities.
The findings suggest that electronic games might help people with visual perception problems or aid people trying to improve their multitasking talents. Other out-of-game benefits, the researchers said, could include any jobs where being observant and being able to cope with many stimuli at once are important.
The reasons why electronic games have these beneficial effects are not clear, and the researchers said more study is needed.
Peter Gourlie, a senior at the Milwaukee School of Engineering and president of the school's "Counter-Strike" club, said that being attentive and having quick wits are important to perform well in the popular game.
"Counter-Strike" is a first-person-perspective game, which means it creates the illusion that players are looking through the eyes of the characters they control. The squad-based, tactical game with a counterterrorism theme requires players to complete various military missions against another team trying to thwart their efforts. An enemy could be behind any corner.
"Some of the maps in the game have very large, open areas, and if you can see slight movement between some boxes and crates, you need to be able to notice that," said Gourlie, whose club has more than 60 members. "If you get shot from behind, you need to jump, turn around and shoot back instantly. And there might be multiple targets. You have to be able to react."
Gourlie, who began his "Counter-Strike" career a few years ago, said he wasn't surprised by the study's findings and has noticed similar results in himself after becoming proficient in the game.
"You find yourself noticing little things," he said.
David Berk, who runs a computer and video games database project at MobyGames.com, credited the mind-sharpening effects of modern games to their increasing graphical richness and complexity.
"It shows the overwhelming visual bombardment that video games are capable of today," he said. "Years ago, we had red dots attacking blue dots on a screen. Now you are talking about the ability of console systems that are able to render thousands of objects simultaneously in real time and move them independently."
Electronic games played from a first-person perspective help immerse players in the virtual reality in which they play. Steve Smith, 33, a Milwaukee gamer, said the experience is "constant visual input."
"It keeps your mind completely engaged," said Smith, who plays the futuristic first-person-shooter "Halo," among other games. "It is not sit, wait and watch."
In the Rochester University study, 16 men ages 18 to 23 took a series of tests that measured their ability to locate the position of a blinking object, count the number of simultaneous objects on a screen and pick out the color of a letter of the alphabet. Those who played video games for the past six months performed better in all of those tests than those who didn't.
In a separate test, a similar group of 17 men who never played video games was trained to play the military game "Medal of Honor" and the puzzle game "Tetris." After playing for 10 days, those who learned "Medal of Honor" scored better on the performance tests than those who didn't play any games at all.
Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Interactive Digital Software Association, which is the lobbying group for the electronic gaming industry, welcomed the news because games are blamed for creating a variety of social problems in America's youth, including aggression and isolation.
"All too often, the focus of media reports are only on those studies that try to highlight the negative things about playing video games," Lowenstein said. "But there is a significant body of research to the contrary. This is certainly not the first study of its kind, and it won't be the last."
I think there should be more corn in the world.
I think socks are fun.
I think bashing two rocks together is good sound.
More thinking later. Brain hurt now.
I learned from the best. :P
zmeston
08-01-2003, 10:52 PM
According to most people I work with, video games make you stupid. But I like everyone else here knows the truth. Video games are actually good for you. What do you think?
The effects of long-term game-playing on the human brain aren't really understood, but I'd argue for mixed benefits; it might improve certain aspects of thinking, but it also produces a euphoric state not unlike a drug-induced high. (Unless it's an Acclaim game, which produces a nauseous state not unlike smelling a week-old corpse.)
Now, as for the effects of long-term game-playing on the body, I only need to look down at my Mountain Dew gut and secretary thighs to know what happens. (I'm trying to shrink the swelling with an hour or two of exercise a day, but sweet Jesus, running and weight training are BOOORING.) Americans are fatter than ever, and there's no question that videogames are playing a role.
-- Z.
According to most people I work with, video games make you stupid. But I like everyone else here knows the truth. Video games are actually good for you. What do you think?
The effects of long-term game-playing on the human brain aren't really understood, but I'd argue for mixed benefits; it might improve certain aspects of thinking, but it also produces a euphoric state not unlike a drug-induced high. (Unless it's an Acclaim game, which produces a nauseous state not unlike smelling a week-old corpse.)
Now, as for the effects of long-term game-playing on the body, I only need to look down at my Mountain Dew gut and secretary thighs to know what happens. (I'm trying to shrink the swelling with an hour or two of exercise a day, but sweet Jesus, running and weight training are BOOORING.) Americans are fatter than ever, and there's no question that videogames are playing a role.
-- Z.
I agree that most Americans are overweight and that video games have a big role in that. I have gained over 60 pounds in 4 years. Now I'm on a heavy diet that really sucks, but its working.
stonecutter
08-01-2003, 11:22 PM
I get confused by big words like marmelade.........
Needle
08-02-2003, 01:52 AM
Wasn't there an article posted to CNN.com about this just recently? I don't know if I'll ever be able to find it again. I'm afraid I may misquote it, but the general gist of things was that a majority of college kids play video games as a social activity, and most of them find ways to balance game playing with their studies.
So yea, I don't know if video games make people smarter or dumber. But part of the perception that video games make kids dumb may come from the lack of responsibility that comes with being an "addict", or being unable to manage time properly. It appears that trend may be reversing.
kainemaxwell
08-02-2003, 10:22 AM
Playing Dynasty Warriors 3 and talking to a friend (who's th eone who got me intresting in playing) has gotten me intreste din reading mor eon the Romance of the Three Kingdoms actually.