Video games and Intelligence

[Achmad]

Hello to everyone on the Paragon forums, I just have a couple questions for you. If you are really into playing video games (hopefully some of the members of Paragon answer this) this is for you. If you play video games daily, does it make you smarter. I am doing this because I need to do a research project for my school. Please respond.

[arx]

Personally I don't think opinions will make for a very good measure of intelligence, unless you're researching whether video gamers think that games make them smarter :P Not that it's an easy topic regardless, as intelligence is hard to define, and even harder to quantify and measure unless you stick to just IQ.

That said, on to the question!

I don't think games necessarily make me any smarter per se, especially in today's dumbed down console world. The important part is that they don't make me any dumber.

Games that I'm interested in force me to think and develop new skills that are required either ingame or in the metagame. Passively watching TV generally doesn't make me think at all, really. Depending on the games you're playing, games make you work for your entertainment, and working helps develop features or maintain existing ones.

A goldseller farming 20 hours per day definitely isn't getting any smarter, but he'll probably develop a lot of patience and strong sitting muscles. With games that I enjoy, I build new ways to approach a variety of problems. Is that what you call smarter?

What I've built up during 15 years of intense gaming amounts to a huge variety of skills that are also relevant outside virtual bounds. They've never helped me in a math test though (well, not directly anyway... sometimes theorycrafting goes too far...). I don't think my potential has increased by playing games, but they've definitely helped me fulfill that potential.

I think I managed to write down an even harder answer than what the question was.

[xenophics]

You might want to check this link out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1DuBesGYM

Jane McGonigal has awesome ideas you might want to use on your research. An awesome lady!

[smeirlap]

Personally I don't think opinions will make for a very good measure of intelligence, unless you're researching whether video gamers think that games make them smarter :P Not that it's an easy topic regardless, as intelligence is hard to define, and even harder to quantify and measure unless you stick to just IQ.

That said, on to the question!

I don't think games necessarily make me any smarter per se, especially in today's dumbed down console world. The important part is that they don't make me any dumber.

Games that I'm interested in force me to think and develop new skills that are required either ingame or in the metagame. Passively watching TV generally doesn't make me think at all, really. Depending on the games you're playing, games make you work for your entertainment, and working helps develop features or maintain existing ones.

A goldseller farming 20 hours per day definitely isn't getting any smarter, but he'll probably develop a lot of patience and strong sitting muscles. With games that I enjoy, I build new ways to approach a variety of problems. Is that what you call smarter?

What I've built up during 15 years of intense gaming amounts to a huge variety of skills that are also relevant outside virtual bounds. They've never helped me in a math test though (well, not directly anyway... sometimes theorycrafting goes too far...). I don't think my potential has increased by playing games, but they've definitely helped me fulfill that potential.

I think I managed to write down an even harder answer than what the question was.

I think you are unfortenately wrong :<

[Achmad]

Let me rephrase this, Do you think video games increase your brain activity to a point where you actually think? I know video games are not used for math tests or anything like that, but they do teach new things. Correct?

[arx]

Let me rephrase this, Do you think video games increase your brain activity to a point where you actually think? I know video games are not used for math tests or anything like that, but they do teach new things. Correct?

That's essentially the point I was making, depending on the games you play. If you play a repetitive grinding game you're obviously not going to think, but if you play a puzzle or strategy game and are analytical about what you do, then analytical thinking is what you get.

(I suck at short; correct)

[arx]

I think you are unfortenately wrong :<

I succumb to your impenetrable argumentation!

Jokes aside, please tell me what you think. It's an interesting topic of discussion.

[Achmad]

I'm just trying to get some opinions from people who play a game and try to and succeed at being good at that game. So please, bring on the answers, there is no right ones.

[smeirlap]

Well, my english is too bad to explain what I think of that.

But, in a few words : video games (who need ~100% of your activity, not stupid games) might seem at first sight, as u said, to increase your brain activity. In fact, surveys showed that it decrease your memory, your space vision (dunno if it is english) and other things which are consequences of playing games (perhaps dependance, ..)

While you are playing games, you cannot do other things (like working, or having discussion with people, or whatever).

Games don't increase your synaps or neurons, but reading books, studying do.


So, yes, it increase your brain activity, but in a bad way. (my reasoning may seem very stupid, but that is the fact :( ) You won't be more intelligent because you played a game (maybe it can give a few tip for your real life).

[Suppeople]

Someone who plays let's say chess? He gets dumber of course?