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]
Don´t care world of warcraft is still evil.
Evil how, exactly?
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?
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.
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?
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?
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”.
Booking my trip to the burns unit as I type.
Props where props are due; that was a snarky comeback! There may be hope…
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.
I think that computer games have a more detrimental effect on people’s brains than regular video games played on a larger screen. There’s something about playing wow that just completely drains your energy, especially played on a small monitor. The amount of time required to get anything done in blizzard games is also the problem. You can play for 3-4 hours and accomplish zilch, so obviously when you get up to do something else your mind is fried. All your adrenaline is gone and it takes just as long to get it back.
I am a writer and author and also an avid player of World Of Warcraft, better known to the over eleven million online players as WoW. While researching for an upcoming article in a series I am doing on senior citizens exercising their brains I came across this post. For those of you that know the game I have played since the days of BC, for those of you that don’t; that’s a long time. Oh; and did I mention that I’m also 68 years old? Which ranks me among some of the oldest players, but not the oldest by any stretch of the imagination. Among other things WoW and mmorpg’s like it keep us thinking, not evil thoughts, just constantly thinking, and that thinking helps to exercise our brains weather young or old exercising our brains is as important as keeping our muscles in shape. So do as I do and the next time someone yells from the next room and I’m playing WoW, asking me what I’m doing. I simply impress them with. “Just exercising my brain.” And if you happen to be an Alliance player you can check us out at – outofmanaonline.com – Our guild is Out Of Mana on the steamwheedle Cartel Server, and My toon is an iLevel 388 hunter named Gourgon, who just happens to be the GM for our guild, as well as the site administrator for our website. So people – NO THE GAME IS NOT EVIL.