Computer gaming good for the mind?

[Fakesmile]

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I believe gaming is nothing more than a waste of time and energy so I've been abstaining from it consecutively for over two months now. But since then, I seem to be doing worse at school work, frequently making stupid mistakes on exams and homeworks and having a generally harder time with being on top of coursework. I also seem unable to derive satisfaction from my academic work and have a lowered short-term memory and decision-making skills.
Are some, though not all, people actually better off by playing computer games? Long time ago, I read somewhere that no play but only work creates dull mind and that a playful mind is a necessary requirement for being smart/creative/genius. I suspect this has something to do with my decline in academic performance. So I'm considering if I should resume my computer gaming to get my playful mind back (while making sure to keep gaming to a minimum, not like over 10 hours a week as I've done in the past when I played games). But before I really decide to get into gaming again, I want to know if there is any research or evidence that actually deals with this, because my worse academic performance might merely be due to some other factors like difficulty of courses I'm taking this semester instead of being due to stopping playing games.

 

[Doodl3s]

I mean, I'm a bit biased, cause i did a lot of competitive gaming. But at the same time, i think it HELPED my intelligence grow a lot. ALTHOUGH, I also believe it may have impacted my social life as well =/. Gaming makes time fly, start at 10, its already 3 a.m. and u didnt realize. You miss out on the horus everyone is going out. Its great when theres nobody around... I like it on days when no one goes out....

As far as how i said it helped. I used to call strats for multiple games, from RTS games to FPS. Each of which had its own way to win. It forces you to organize your time, organize priorities, think ahead to the future, all possible outcomes, etc. Its similar to chess, but i think harder actually, because theres so many more variables. Hand-eye-coordination is huge for FPS games, and the ability to think about strategy is how to win RTS games (hence the S in RTS). I think it helped develop my mind as i played them in my young teens as my mind was developing.

AND on a personal side note, I think games are GREAT for people with aggression or stress. I know there are some studies showing how it brings out aggression or social negativity toward others. But personally, when i'm stressed, sitting down relaxing, while getting anger out by killing non-existent beings, with all the satisfaction of "winning" even though its all fake. It destressed me a lot. Hell i make it a note to play a round of FPS the night before the SAT, big finals, and the MCAT!... lol. not to just play late, just get in one round to destress and relax before bed.

 

[Cytotoxic]

Civilization IV.

 

[chman]

I am convinced that tetris makes one a better and faster problem solver.

 

[cbear]

Yea, I don't really know. The amount of gaming I did fluctuated during college, and it didn't affect my grades. Haven't really played very much this past year, because frankly it just became really boring. I get restless playing a game for more than 20 minutes, and have to get up to do something else....they just seem so pointless and dull now, lol. not to mention expensive.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Personally there are a lot of benifits to computer games. I played a MMORPG called Runescape for a long while. I'll have to admit it builds skill and determination. If your willing to spend 200 hours to get a skill to 99 then you've got some ability to plan and work goals through.

Also its a good outlet to socialize and chill out with people and exchange idea's sometimes.

Other then that I'm a massive fan of Megaman games. Those are sooooo funn hahaha XD but yah honestly if you manage to get a S rank in one of those games. Then you've got some capacity to be quick and increases cognitive capability.
I forget which experiment but it shows that video games if relaitively neutral can stimulate massive cognitive development in children. So its wise to say that video games are good as long as they maintain low violence levels.

 

[bannie22]

Personally there are a lot of benifits to computer games. I played a MMORPG called Runescape for a long while. I'll have to admit it builds skill and determination. If your willing to spend 200 hours to get a skill to 99 then you've got some ability to plan and work goals through.

Also its a good outlet to socialize and chill out with people and exchange idea's sometimes.

1) LAME
2) WTF? SKILL? GRINDING IS SKILL!?
3) FAIL.
4) OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG WTHHHH!? GO OUTTTTTT 😎



😛 aww its serendy =p fine.


then its fine if its serendy. lolz

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

1) LAME
2) WTF? SKILL? GRINDING IS SKILL!?
3) FAIL.
4) OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG WTHHHH!? GO OUTTTTTT 😎



😛 aww its serendy =p fine.


then its fine if its serendy. lolz

Lol well grinding requires you to actually get the money so you can grind non-stop lol. Which takes skill.... DONT JUDGE ME XD!!!!
😛😛😛😛😛
But yah i used to play the game.. I quit almost 2 years ago though after the game's community took a downward spin and all the fun was sucked dry. LOL

 

[Doodl3s]

5v5 your east de_any be good

gl hf lo3 it

 

[BlueElmo]

I don't know, but it sure is fun.

But I think RTS games could be good for your mind. In terms of making strategies, being patient, and things of that nature. Sort of like chess.

 

[StoneKing]

u ppl who thinks grinding is fun are in denial. it's called a friggin addiction. you can spend 100+ hours to get higher level because you're addicted. when you're trying to work, you'll be thinking of games. that's my experience, it fked me over. I hated every single level I gained. when i completely let go of games and just exercised and studied, my grades soared to 3.9-4.0 each semester, but it was already too late.

for those who is able to control their playing time to 1-2 hours a day, shut up and don't brag. we're all jealoused of you, k?
for those who can't, like me before, please go to online gamer anonymous and read up some stuff for self-help. Games = Alcohols = Substance Abuse = similar pleasure pathway (go learn this in neurology) = Addiction.

Addiction = no med school. Good luck all.

 

[PureMotivation]

5v5 your east de_any be good

CS for the win. We should make #SDN an irc chan gg

 

[Practitioner]

But I think RTS games could be good for your mind. In terms of making strategies, being patient, and things of that nature. Sort of like chess.

Also for multitasking and getting into using hotkeys.

I'd elaborate more but I've done that before and it feels a little lame everytime. I'll just say that the kinds of thought processes I use to micromanage actually get applied to work, and if my colleagues in the office are looking over my shoulder working they're always poking fun at how fast I process information and react to it.

Control, Alt, and tab are my favorite keys.

 

[Tatastrophy]

havent played a game since i was like 5. got through my classes and into med school just fine
if withdrawal from videogames is making u do as badly as you describe...i think you have bigger problems to think about.

your classes could....maybe...possibly...be getting harder as you go along...call me crazy. just a theory.

 

[Practitioner]

Also, several issues ago (it might actually be a year ago now) Science had an article on electronic gaming and looking at how it affected intelligence (If I recall correctly, they were looking at military training, hand-eye coordination, multitasking, and violence.... although I might be remembering two different articles, one on violence and another on benefits of gaming.)

I vaguely recall another article on laparoscopy/MIS surgeons who grew up on consoles and how they were outperforming their peers a generation earlier who did not play games.

Would have to search for those articles to reference them with any accuracy. Memory is so unreliable.

 

[StoneKing]

Also, several issues ago (it might actually be a year ago now) Science had an article on electronic gaming and looking at how it affected intelligence (If I recall correctly, they were looking at military training, hand-eye coordination, multitasking, and violence.... although I might be remembering two different articles, one on violence and another on benefits of gaming.)

I vaguely recall another article on laparoscopy/MIS surgeons who grew up on consoles and how they were outperforming their peers a generation earlier who did not play games.

Would have to search for those articles to reference them with any accuracy. Memory is so unreliable.

All is good if you can control it. If you can't, well... you're just making excuses to play

 

[Practitioner]

Okay, here it is:

So do video games promote skill in multitasking? Research provides an affirmative answer. Kearney measured multitasking with SynWork, which simulates elements of work-based activities and measures composite performance on four tasks carried out simultaneously. Playing 2 hours of a shooting game called Counter-Strike improved multitasking scores significantly over those of a no-play control group (37).

....

The best game players (the top third) made 47% fewer errors and performed 39% faster in the laparoscopy tasks than the worst players (the bottom third). These results indicate the value of video game play as informal educational background for specific training in laparoscopic surgery, a finding that is applicable to other lines of work (such as piloting a plane) whose skill profiles overlap with those required by action video games.

P. M. Greenfield, Technology and Informal Education. Science (2009) Vol. 323. pp. 69 - 71

It was January 2009, so just over a year. I found a bunch of other articles too but too lazy to read/copy-paste after filtering through to find relevant ones to this thread. There's plenty of emerging research on gaming and its effects.

All is good if you can control it. If you can't, well... you're just making excuses to play

I do ok most days. Try to read/work out as much and usually works out fine if I'm not too bored or tired (not having cable/TV helps!)

 

[VOP]

some surgical tools are becoming very video game like...so yes, start playing killzone and madden.

 

[Morsetlis]

Of course it's good for your mind. It's also addicting and prevents you from completing real EC's which matter more.

 

[Excelsius]

I believe gaming is nothing more than a waste of time and energy so I've been abstaining from it consecutively for over two months now. But since then, I seem to be doing worse at school work, frequently making stupid mistakes on exams and homeworks and having a generally harder time with being on top of coursework. I also seem unable to derive satisfaction from my academic work and have a lowered short-term memory and decision-making skills.
Are some, though not all, people actually better off by playing computer games? Long time ago, I read somewhere that no play but only work creates dull mind and that a playful mind is a necessary requirement for being smart/creative/genius. I suspect this has something to do with my decline in academic performance. So I'm considering if I should resume my computer gaming to get my playful mind back (while making sure to keep gaming to a minimum, not like over 10 hours a week as I've done in the past when I played games). But before I really decide to get into gaming again, I want to know if there is any research or evidence that actually deals with this, because my worse academic performance might merely be due to some other factors like difficulty of courses I'm taking this semester instead of being due to stopping playing games.

Hey FS. I am sure pc games don't make you smarter per se, but if they cheer you up enough to do better at school, then you should just do it. You could also try to find another hobby you like.

As far as geniuses, I have read enough biographies by now to know that most geniuses are anything but cheerful. "Genius" is a possession almost to the exclusion of the entire outside world and it is often a very pensive state. Nevertheless, in philosophy it is generally accepted by some of the best in the field that polyhistoric intelligence automatically carries along with it tacit depression.

 

[chman]

As far as geniuses, I have read enough biographies by now to know that most geniuses are anything but cheerful. "Genius" is a possession almost to the exclusion of the entire outside world and it is often a very pensive state. Nevertheless, in philosophy it is generally accepted by some of the best in the field that polyhistoric intelligence automatically carries along with it tacit depression.

This is true. Geniuses are generally depressed, weird, and socially awkward. Newton, for example, had no interest in sex.

Another pattern of geniuses is that most of them have weird sleep schedules. A lot of them sleep in odd shifts, don't sleep much, or sleep a lot.

 

[morning]

I was homeschooled when I was a kid (pre-high school) and I'm convinced if it wasn't for the outlet of video games I'd be a fundamentalist nutjob right now. Seriously!