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Videogames Sharpen Player Vision

Posted by Zonk on from the yay-eye-razors dept.

Via GameSpot, the news on the University of Rochester site is that playing videogames can actually improve your vision. Games, especially action shooters, actually change the way your brain looks at the world. According to the findings of researchers Daphne Bavelier and Shawn Green, visual processing is enhanced through consistent play of complex graphical titles. Simple orientation tests were much easier for a group that played UT, compared to a group that only played Tetris.

13 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Well almost. by PhilDEE · · Score: 5, Funny

    When I'll eventually need glasses, I'll instead consider turning up the anisotropic filtering in the real world.

    1. Re:Well almost. by Cyberax · · Score: 4, Funny

      Myopia - hardware antialiasing right in your eyes!

    2. Re:Well almost. by springbox · · Score: 2, Funny

      Good thing the analog world doesn't suffer from jaggies. It's more like Gaussian blurring.

  2. Interesting... by Vengeance · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My wife and I (yes, I know, this is /. and mentioning wives/girlfriends is controversial) have been playing Unreal Tournament on a regular basis for a while now. I wonder if that's got anything at all to do with my left eye's improvement in my last exam. I had to have my corrective lens prescription weakened a bit.

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    It was a joke! When you give me that look it was a joke.
    1. Re:Interesting... by nahdude812 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I'm in need of game-playing partner, myself. Where can I buy this "wife"?
      I found mine at this new chain of stores called "College." They have them on display all over the place, but unfortunately they haven't quite gotten compatibility issues straightened out, so you may have to window shop for a while, and test drive a few.

      Interestingly, I'd looked at the very same model (same serial number too if you can believe that) that I ultimately ended up with back in high school; I guess she or I got a software upgrade since then since our systems were more compatible this time around.
      --
      Slay a dragon... over lunch!
  3. Red eyes by Rastignac · · Score: 3, Insightful

    3:00AM, red eyes, they hurt.
    I don't see how videogames sharpen player vision.
    I can't see anything... ;)

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    -- Rastignac was here.
  4. Sharpening those eyes so you can murder more. by Lordpidey · · Score: 5, Funny

    These murder simulators even go so far as enhancing the person who trains under them to become a better murderer. We must stop them now because their eyesight is almost good enough to hit us from 1000 yards with no scope. Hurry, lobby congress!

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    Some people encrypt by using rot-13 twice. I prefer the more secure method of using rot-1 a total of twenty six times.
    1. Re:Sharpening those eyes so you can murder more. by aadvancedGIR · · Score: 4, Funny

      How could you stop them? FBI snippers are not trained to aim at people performing circle-straff-rocket-jumps all the time.

  5. Not vision? by Dr.+Eggman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    From they way they describe the test, it sounds less like it improved vision and more like it improved visual processing, which is nothing new.

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    Demented But Determined.
    1. Re:Not vision? by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 2, Informative

      My thoughts exactly. Is it a question of your eyesight actually improving, or are you learning to pay more attention to smaller details happening around you? I'd say that it's probably more of the latter. However, constantly moving and refocusing your eyes on different things can have a slight effect on your eyesight.

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      This guy's the limit!
  6. Re:NEWS @ 11 by LighterShadeOfBlack · · Score: 2, Funny

    We get better at things we do more often. Sight isn't a skill like playing a sport. By your logic someone who has sex or masturbates a lot will ejaculate "better". Maybe true, but it's certainly not a given. ...although if anyone would know that one I think Slashdot is the place to look.
    --
    Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and stupid comments are intentional.
  7. unfair. by Falladir · · Score: 2, Funny

    This may be true, but Tetris has its own benefits. The study is unfairly biased against Tetris.

  8. Tetris hallucinations by My+name+is+Bucket · · Score: 3, Funny

    FPSs may have given me better vision, but thank to Tetris I'll never look at tile floors or window panes the same way again.