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Computers, Video Games 'Infantalising' Our Brains, Says British 'Lady'
According to a British researcher, video games and computers are making us fat, stupid, and lazy. Baroness Susan Greenfield, director of the Royal Institution science research center, contends that gamers and computer users don't learn painful, real-life lessons -- such as those learned by a child who touches a hot stove or pulls a cat's tail. According to the Baroness, this leads people to repeat past mistakes, despite the negative consequences. It also means we're not using certain parts of our brains -- in particular, the pre-frontal cortex ("You use it or lose it. And if you don't use it, you are infantalising the brain," she told some folks at a science seminar in London last week.)
'Lady Greenfield' also said that she believes we're on the road to widespread gluttony and sloth -- and then to stupidity. Greenfield seems to be unfamiliar with games that promote activity, such as 'Wii Fit,' and she must have missed the studies showing that video games improve eyesight, increase mental functioning, and can aid in the recovery of stroke victims.
What's worse, the Baroness offers no solution to the oncoming fat/stupid epidemic, since she believes that any restriction on the devices will just make people want to use them more. Oh well -- since we're doomed to a moronic life of lethargy, we're stocking up on cola and Twinkies, sitting back with our laptops, and enjoying the ride. [From: The Telegraph via The Inquirer]
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Comments
7
Subscribe to commentsfastharryMay 14th 2009 8:34AM
boy oh boy....
When people suck at HALO, they will go to any extreme to ban video games....
IanMay 14th 2009 12:29PM
lol thank you
CarlMay 14th 2009 9:10AM
Why did you put 'quotes' around 'Lady' (twice)? Are you trying to minimize her credentials because she happens to also have an aristocratic title? And if so, isn't that just a more subtle form of ad hominem argument?
It never ceases to astonish me that people think they can understand neuroscience with a combination of "common sense" and introspection. The brain is insanely complex, and it shouldn't be surprising that playing video games exercises some parts of the brain and suppresses others. For instance, we already know that the brain activates differently when intensively learning a new game versus playing a familiar one.
But heaven forbid that an actual scientist who did some actual research might reach a conclusion that you dislike. Obviously, she can't possibly be right, and obviously a director of the Royal Institution won't know of those other studies, so you should certainly dismiss anything she has to say.
ShadowguitarMay 14th 2009 9:41AM
If she was right, there wouldn't be anyone in college. If she was right, I would be an overweight, stupid loser. Instead, I'm 6 foot 7 and 180 pounds, and I'm a very social college student. Since 98% of kids today play videogames, I think that more people would notice if children's minds were "infantalising."
matyMay 14th 2009 9:45AM
Firstly, shh.
Secondly, her argument falls down when she argues that gamers don't learn "important life lessons". Oddly enough, the majority of gamers are aged 25-35 and hold down full-time jobs.
I don't care, it'll be forgotten about by tomorrow.
GuidoMay 14th 2009 9:11AM
sounds more like she's just criticizing a phenomenon that she's outside of and unable to understand as the new thing that's going to ruin society.
to suggest that the internet - which is the largest, broadest information source in existence - will inevitably make us stupid is...stupid.
CarlMay 14th 2009 10:05AM
#3, #4: So basically, you're argument is: If we wildly extrapolate what she's saying into a ludicrous straw man, that straw man obviously isn't true. Therefore her actual statement isn't true. Never mind what her and many other people's research shows. Nice.
As for you maty, your very first line shows you to be infantile and short on life lessons. Ironic, no?
#5: Reading comprehension. You lack it.