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Video Game Use Linked To Breast Feeding
In order to demonstrate the ridiculousness of some recent studies which grabbed media headlines by claiming "links" between video games and all sorts of negative behavior (such as violence and the lower-quality relationships), Ars Technica's Ben Kuchera did an experiment of his own: "I started calling people I knew, and I asked if they had one or more video games in the house. Then I asked if they breast-fed their children. To my great shock, most answered 'yes' to both. One couple I contacted switched to formula after their child's birth, and told me that they didn't play video games. The data, based on my first round of calls, was conclusive: if you play video games, you are much more likely to breast-feed your children. You're probably ready to shoot five thousand holes in my argument. ... I did my job though, and you clicked on the headline." He goes on point out flaws in media reports and legislation involving such claims.
Pics, or it didn't happen.
Ben Kuchera presents a satirical critique on the much-touted, supposedly causative video games-violence correlation.
Certainly not idle material.
So they were breastfeeding before their child's birth???
Doesn't this deserve to be under idle?
This is actually an important issue for those of us that care about games, and whilst it is a bit prankish, it not 'just some prank'. Anyway, there's no category on Slashdot for 'preaching to the converted', it's just a general assumption that news articles will fit the bent of the site.
He's basically making the following claim: I can do a non-scientific survey and publish the results. Therefore, anyone publishing results must also be doing a non-scientific survey.
Try RTFA.
The claim he is making is that people publish results using correlation to imply causation just to get readers, with a nonsensical example to emphasise the point which, lo and behold, got people to read it.
The problem is that, as someone said above, he is 'preaching to the converted'.
Damn, and I was about to publish my study about the link between video game playing and breathing! 100% of gamers I have interviewed actually breathe between 10-20 times per minute. My interviews with non breathers at the local cemetery was a disaster, but I noticed that none of them play games! I think I'm on to something.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
... it was found that well over 95% of people who use hard drugs, started out on milk.
Quite obviously, milk is a "gateway drug" and must be outlawed! "It's for the children."
I mean, really, how many geeks does it take to miss a point?
Computer memory is just fancy paper, CPUs just fancy pens with fancy erasers; the 'net is just a fancy backyard fence.
if you are not able to discern about an important satire making a point regarding misconceptions and bullsh@t going on in the society about video gaming ?
Read radical news here
1. Breastfeeding is more prevalent in more educated people, which is correlated to wealth - i.e. people with more money who can buy video games. Check to see if two cars or a bigger house is related to breastfeeding.
2. Even though I'm sure your the most popular guy on the planet, I doubt the sample you have tested is remotely significant. Clearly you need funding to take your research globally.
3. One of the key features of breastfeeding is that men can't do it. So they have more free time - especially as they're not getting any of the other kind of action.
Genesis 1:32 And God typed
Whoosh.
Everybody. Fucking WHOOSH!!
It's not that there's a scientific link between breast feeding and video games. The author is making a sarcastic point about the ridiculousness of the studies, and the tenuousness of the link between video games and violence.
Think, people.
"City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
It's a parody. It's not supposed to make us look....non-silly. It's supposed to make the other side look sillier. Which it does, to those of use with a sense of humour.
Apparently, however, you're missing that personality component.
"City hall" in German is "Rathaus" Kinda explains a few things......
I'd say it is bigger than just video games. The type of thinking he is attacking has existed in one form or another for many, many years. He even mentions it in the article. Somewhere I read them called social demons, they are essentially scapegoats for society to blame abnormal behavior on. So long as we set up our collective social demons, whether it be videogames or rap music or whatever, we revert to an unscientific approach of fearmongering rather than a scientific discovery of the root causes of social ills. It is made even worse when someone makes a psuedoscientific claim that is obviously flawed to those who regularly do science but sounds "scientific and factual" to the general public. This article is about the abuse of science to shape the social consciousness. Most certainly "News for Nerds" and "Stuff that Matters."
Parodies are not usually held to the same standards of quality as the subject they are parodying.
It's implied that the studies are as valueless as his example, though. While nonintervention studies are not as valuable as newspaper articles would suggest, they are still important in determining which areas merit causation-demonstrating, intervention-based studies. The problem is the reporting, not the research itself.
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?