Interesting and thought-provoking article:
Wired 13.05: Dome Improvement
An American Philosopher has analyzed a series of studies, and determined that whatever it is that I.Q. tests are measuring (it's supposed to be a particular thinking capacity called g) it's been consistently rising in industrialized nations, year after year. I like the hypothesis presented -- that our advances in logical ability are correlating with our increasingly rationalized environment, thanks to the growing presence of industrial-designed objects following logical rules (from traffic signals and telephones to VCRs, DVDs, PC's). One of the items that he points out (of course) is the rise of video games, with their visual-cognitive puzzling that keep kids building and trashing hypotheses for hours. I'm still not sold on the idea that "video games/Computers make kids smarter" but I DO think that they have a role in building a particular type of visual/logical thinking style. Video games can be more a part of a balanced educational regime than Fruit Loops are a part of a balanced breakfast. But it's sure not going to be the best breakfast by itself.
2 comments:
For all those interested in totally useless bits of information, 'g' was supposed to explain the correlation between intelligence test types for a specific individual...Spearman (the scientist who came up with 'g') thought it was odd to lump multiple types of intelligence under a single number (the iniquitous IQ). Later, Cattell split 'g' into crystallized and fluid subclasses of intelligence.
Speaking of pigs in a blender, I agree that video games and their ilk may not make you smarter (I suppose it would depend on your definition of 'smart'), but they certainly do hone fine motor dexterity and problem-solving skills. And besides, it beats working...
We all know that I LOVE totally useless bits of knowledge. And that I believe that video games beat work anytime. I think it's fascinating -- when we take things like 'g' and it gets in the popular consciousness and gets mutilated beyond all recognition or sensible interpretation. As a correlation between intelligence test types, IQ might actually make sense. The way that most people percieve it today is kind of ridiculous.
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