Tetris for Health Nerds?

Apparently Steven Johnson has a new book out about video games and your brain. Well, I am a child of the video game era, having been around since the dawn of the 80s, however, I never really played much. I did do some PC problem-solving games, and I love Tetris, but if I had been told earlier they were good for me, I would have used that as leverage to buy some, and play them, gosh darn it!

Learnging how to win your way through these games IS the challenge. It's learning, creating strategies, and it's fun! My good friend has been a gamer of all sorts for years, and every once in a while, I get a glimpse of what it's like. As Johnson mentions, test results are beginning to show "the cognitive benefits of playing video games: pattern recognition, system thinking, even patience". And, I might add, scores of problem solving abilities. When many people play, I think they are more interested in being challenged and being able to say "I won" (against the game, or other people in my room or online). Or more than that, just sharing strategies between gamers, and enjoying the experience of the interactivity video games afford. An added benefit of video games is that they are the kind of product some researchers turn out for cash to create more beneficial things, like interfaces for physically disabled. Amazing. And fun!

Back to learning, video games are "embedded with one of the core principles of learning -- students prosper when the subject matter challenges them right at the edge of their abilities." That's true, too. I could get into the psychology of learning, but I can't remember it all now so I won't. Learning involves a system of challenges and rewards, and keeping your on your toes to survive, for that added Darwin effect. The most popular games, according to this article, are about "challenging mental dexterity" and not the plain shoot-em-up games. They are more advanced then movies and books in that the game itself has flexibility to increase in complexity in response to the player's abilities. In spring 2003, one research assistant the University of Rochester decided to give a visual recognition test to gamers and non-gamers, and found the gamers were much better at recognizing the objects (naming colours, numbers and shapes). They have theorized that video games DO increase people's ability to perceive the world more clearly.

Now, I've played Halo II once, and I was turning around in circles, trying even just to walk forward! Had I not played it under the guidance and giggles of my friend, I would have never stopped walking into the wall. But there's hope for me and video games yet!