Can Video Games Make You Smarter?

How many times has someone told you that video games will rot your brain? For whatever reason, video games have traditionally had a bad rap for being destructive or a “waste of time”, especially when compared to such mediums as television, movies, and even being on the computer. But more and more studies are discovering what gamers have already known for the past two decades: video gamers are much more involved than passive viewers of other media, like television, and thus have the ability to increase the number of brain cells, not burn them.

Tell us something we don’t know…

Okay, here’s some more interesting information you can give to those giving you a hard time for playing video games. An overwhelming majority of the most popular video games contain multi-player features which require group collaboration in order to solve many of the games objectives. This is an invaluable tool that teaches individuals how to work together, and encourages them to build team communication skills in a simulated environment. The beauty of video games is that they are so much fun, we don’t even realize we are building those team skills, becoming effective group communicators and learning how to work together–we just do it because its part of the overall objective of the game and the games are fun!

In fancy scientific speech, James Paul Gee, author of “What Video Games Have to Teach us about Learning and Literacy” say, “Good video games are complex, designed systems that players have to learn to engage with reflectively and strategically.”

He notes that many children can pass biology and physics tests, but few can apply that knowledge to solve real-world problems. Is Halo a real

world problem? Maybe not yet (ha), but the same skills you are using in Halo are applicable to what Counter Strike, COD, WOW, all present. It’s not the reality of the situation, it’s the ability to think, cooperate, and successfully work together to accomplish a task within any environment.

Video games have shown so much utility that the biggest corporations and government operations use video games as a training tool. Cisco to NASA, the U.S. Army to IBM video games are no longer rotting your brain, in fact, if you are really good at them, or simply have a passion for them, it means you’re already one step ahead of the competition. We’re entering a world where everything is going to be run (arguably, it already is) through simulated environments. Such activities like training for a job, are most likely going to require some familiarity with video games of some sort.

Consider these examples which required individuals to interact in a simulated environment:

-Loyalist College in Ontario offered students a simulation of U.S./Canada border crossings where they played the role of guards, and actually saw the rate of successful test scores jump from 56% to 95%.

-Dr. Jeffrey Taekman, the director of Duke University’s Human Simulation and Patient Safety Center, says that simulations offer health care providers several upsides–chief among them, are the abilities to make choices, see results and apply information immediately.

“The traditional textbook will soon become passé,” he suggests. “Gaming platforms will offer an interactive way for students to learn and apply information in context.”

If you thought the iPad replacing your textbook was cool, wait until your homework is to play your favorite multiplayer game for three hours…

Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but here’s the point with video games. They get a bad rap because they often cause people to be physically inactive for long periods of time (which isn’t always a good thing). However, what is overlooked is how cognitively active the individual is during this period. The people who don’t play video games continue to underestimate their value, mainly because, well, they aren’t playing them! The truth is that video games have come a long way, and now offer very sophisticated depictions of the world, which although varied, still require skills that are necassary for being productive in our “real world environment.”

Next time anybody tries to give you a hard time for playing video games, know that one day, you’ll most likely be the one teaching them how they work. Be nice to them though, they’re just a noob after all.

Portions of this article were quoted from a CNN News Report.

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