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| Additional Physical Format: | Online version: Johnson, Steven, 1968- Everything bad is good for you. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005 (OCoLC)607610026 Online version: Johnson, Steven, 1968- Everything bad is good for you. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005 (OCoLC)608121838 |
|---|---|
| Material Type: | Internet resource |
| Document Type: | Book, Internet Resource |
| All Authors / Contributors: |
Steven Johnson |
| ISBN: | 1573223077 9781573223072 |
| OCLC Number: | 57514882 |
| Description: | xiv, 238 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. |
| Contents: | Introduction : the sleeper curve -- Part one -- Part two -- Notes on further reading -- Notes -- Acknowledgments. |
| Responsibility: | Steven Johnson. |
| More information: |
Abstract:
The $10 billion video gaming industry is now the second-largest segment of the entertainment industry in the United States, outstripping film and far surpassing books. Reality television shows featuring silicone-stuffed CEO wannabes and bug-eating adrenaline junkies dominate the ratings. But prominent social and cultural critic Steven Johnson argues that our popular culture has never been smarter. Drawing from fields as diverse as neuroscience, economics, and literary theory, the author argues that the junk culture we're so eager to dismiss is in fact making us more intelligent. A video game will never be a book nor should it aspire to be-and, in fact, video games, from Tetris to the Sims to Grand Theft Auto, have been shown to raise IQ scores and develop cognitive abilities that can't be learned from books. Likewise, successful television, when examined closely and taken seriously, reveals surprising narrative sophistication and intellectual demands. This book is a hopeful and spirited account of contemporary culture. The author demonstrates that our culture is not declining but changing-in exciting and stimulating ways we'd do well to understand. The glow of the video game or television screen will never be regarded the same way again.
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WorldCat User Reviews (1)
Thought-provoking, better than its title suggests
I especially enjoyed the analysis of the complexity of plot threads in tv shows - like many viewers, I had been enjoying these shows without ever noticing consciously the changes to the way the best shows were structured, both within the episodes and over the seasons. It has changed the way I watch TV.I...
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I especially enjoyed the analysis of the complexity of plot threads in tv shows - like many viewers, I had been enjoying these shows without ever noticing consciously the changes to the way the best shows were structured, both within the episodes and over the seasons. It has changed the way I watch TV.I disagree with the author's dismissal of the research about the violent content of video games. His point about their plot/skills complexity is correct, but he completely avoids facing the reality that the content is also teaching another lesson, and that there are peer-reviewed research studies demonstrating the harm of that lesson.
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