Video Game Skill = Larger Brain Size

[Dunlap]

I think the more accurate correlation to make here is that a larger brain will give you better video game skill, not that playing video games will increase your brain size...

[Mzo]

Unless you only play sports games.

[Pineapple]

Can I use videogames as a writeoff on my taxes because they make me smarter for all jobs?
Puzzle solving = problem solving.

[Super-Eggroll]

I wrote off my new gaming computer I built several years ago as a job tool, since I used it to print off work documents.


Also - you could always use that new PS3 commercial to make your case...

edit: Here it is:

[Frogacuda]

Can I use videogames as a writeoff on my taxes because they make me smarter for all jobs?
Puzzle solving = problem solving.

I write off most of my game purchases as work expenses, but it's a bit easier for me to justify that.

[ssbomberman]

I think what's more important is that, at least from my years here on TNL and hanging in the fighter scene, is that that stereotype bullshit about the gamer is completely the opposite for many (some do fit the bill unfortunately) -- we seek out games for the challenge and the sense of accomplishment. Same reason play sports, poker, chess, etc. You stick Disgaea in front of some dickhead smarty professor (I can say that cause I work at a university full of them) and see if he can figure out WTF is going on. On another note, I tried to explain Street Fighter to a co-worker last week and he just thought you press buttons and kill the other person, which you kind of do, but he had no idea why we enjoy playing it so much... scientist should be studying the reason we play games, not whether it's good or bad...

[dog$]

New WSJ article about gaming and brain development. Rather than make a new thread, I felt it more continued this topic.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj
"When Gaming Is Good for You : Hours of Intense Play Change the Adult Brain; Better Multitasking, Decision-Making and Even Creativity"

Choice quotes:

People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study. Indeed, the most adept gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second—four times faster than most people, other researchers found. Moreover, practiced game players can pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared with the four that someone can normally keep in mind, said University of Rochester researchers.

...

Scientists also found that women—who make up about 42% of computer and videogame players—were better able to mentally manipulate 3D objects, a skill at which men are generally more adept.

...

Brain scans show that violent videogames can alter brain function in healthy young men after just a week of play, depressing activity among regions associated with emotional control, researchers at Indiana University recently reported. Other studies have found an association between compulsive gaming and being overweight, introverted and prone to depression.

...

The violent action games that often worry parents most had the strongest beneficial effect on the brain.

...

A three-year study of 491 middle school students found that the more children played computer games the higher their scores on a standardized test of creativity—regardless of race, gender, or the kind of game played.

...

"There has been a lot of attention wasted in figuring out whether these things turn us into killing machines," said computational analyst Joshua Lewis at the University of California in San Diego, who studied 2,000 computer game players. "Not enough attention has been paid to the unique and interesting features that videogames have outside of the violence."

I wonder if they'll ever conduct studies to establish correlation between intelligence and keyfile DLC purchasing.

[Melf]

The world's greatest gamer!

[Fe 26]

Scientists also found that women—who make up about 42% of computer and videogame players—were better able to mentally manipulate 3D objects, a skill at which men are generally more adept.

hu. I think this connects to my posts in my random thoughts thread. The one that pissed that one girl off about girls being dumb in higher sciences.

The study said that even though women continue to progress and do just as well (or better) than boys in middle and high school classes, they did poorly in college science and math classes on average. They theorized that his is because women on average are very bad at spacial recognition (thinking in 3D). Which is required for many higher math and science classes where you have several things acting upon each other in the time domain.

ANYWAY, one theory on why women were bad at this was because public schools NEVER teach anything related to this skill AND boys get good at it because they explore a lot more throughout their youth. The idea was that little boys built the skill by building little 3D maps in their head of how the environment was layout as they explored.


At the time, I thought that theory was bullshit.

But if women are improving these skills by exploring 3D worlds, then there might be some actual credence to the theory. And if true, Video Games might be the key to getting more Americans involved in high level science and math subjects.


And aside. It would be kind of interesting if video games are curbing the damage over protective parents are doing to American children. If exploring actual does help the ability to think three dimensionally, and video games are making up for parents who won't let their kids go outside.