World of Warcraft trains your brain
Tired of specious and unsupported media claims that computer games are ruinous to the minds of children? Well, here’s the exact opposite – a number of studies discussed at the American Psychological Association convention demonstrate that computer games can actually develop problem-solving skills in younger players. [image by PhuSon]
Of course, that’s not really news to anyone from a generation that actually plays video games, rather than feeling intimidated by them. However, it does highlight the potential of games to be developed more deliberately as learning tools… but hey, let’s keep Orson Scott Card off the advisory committee, shall we?
[Tip of the horned battle helm to Guy Humphries via Darren "Orbit" Turpin]
August 21st, 2008 at 4:31 am
Don´t care world of warcraft is still evil.
August 21st, 2008 at 4:53 am
Evil how, exactly?
August 21st, 2008 at 7:39 am
Does that mean that those of us brought up with problem solving games such as Monkey Island, Full Throttle, Indiana Jones etc have an advantage over modern gamering kids?
August 21st, 2008 at 8:38 am
Actually I just read the article and never really thought about the strategies that tend to go into min/maxing that we tend to naturally do. Though I do think WoW is probably a bad example of this.
August 22nd, 2008 at 1:33 am
Geez, give Orson a break, willya? The fact that he has dared to disagree
with the party line shouldn’t make him a pariah. Does he have the right
to have an opinion or not? This IS still America, right?
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:10 am
It’s probably because I’m not American, but I missed the bit in the Constitution where it says persecution and intolerance is OK so long as you’re a famous author. Sure, he’s got a right to his opinion. I also have a right to mine, and I exercise it regularly. It’s a giggle, this freedom of speech thing, isn’t it?
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:39 am
And yet I’ve read so much more of his work than yours….probably because
he doesn’t use phrases like “it’s a giggle”.
August 22nd, 2008 at 5:49 am
Booking my trip to the burns unit as I type.
August 23rd, 2008 at 4:13 am
Props where props are due; that was a snarky comeback! There may be hope…
November 11th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I think it only improves skills indirectly, and not as fast as upfront learning these skills. WoW is a great game, but I don’t learn anything from it.