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Video Games Lead To Quick Thinking Skills

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the and-no-add-whatsoev dept.

shmG writes "Parents who dismiss video games as mindless entertainment with no intrinsic value for their children may not have a leg to stand on anymore thanks to science. Cognitive scientists from the University of Rochester have proven action based video games train people to make quick, accurate decisions. These skills acquired from video games, which help players develop a heightened sensitivity to their surroundings, can be used in real world applications. This includes multitasking, driving, reading small print, keeping track of friends in a crowd, and navigating around town."

12 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Video Games by wbav · · Score: 5, Funny

    Creating first post people everywhere

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    1. Re:Video Games by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 3, Funny

      Camper!!

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  2. I quickly determined... by Bai+jie · · Score: 2, Funny

    the article was tl;dr

    1. Re:I quickly determined... by Tiger4 · · Score: 4, Funny

      "other results of the study indicated subjects had a reduced attention span when comp... Squirrel!! ...ared to a control group."

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  3. Yep by Dyinobal · · Score: 3, Funny

    I know grand theft auto helped me learn learned how to drive, and perhaps how to lose the cops.

  4. It's true by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

    I once played Call of Duty for 72 hours straight. On my way to the 7-11 to get another case of Code Red I heard a loud bang right behind me. Instantly I spun around, dove to the ground, and emptied the clips on the two handguns I keep strapped to my sides at all times in order to fend off any crazy baseball-bat-wielding maniacs (I play a lot of Grand Theft Auto too). Anyway, it turns out it was just a school bus full of kids backfiring, but the incident gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to react quickly in any given situation. Shame about the kids, though.

    1. Re:It's true by nschubach · · Score: 4, Funny

      Kids get a lot of hit points these days thanks to the sugars and fatty foods. They'll be fine. ;)

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    2. Re:It's true by Nyder · · Score: 2, Funny

      Everyone runs faster with a knife in their hands.

      Double Dragon taught me to wait for the other person to reach down for the knife, then attack.

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  5. video wasd..games just wasd.. make me spaz.. by bl8n8r · · Score: 2, Funny

    when I wasd type. Not sure wasd about decisiveness though.

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  6. "You fell into a trap!" by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 3, Funny

    "You are damaged by the fall!"

    I saw that while playing Rogue back in the early '80s. I'm still considering what I should do next.

    Yeah, quick thinking, indeed . . .

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  7. Re:hmmm by znerk · · Score: 3, Funny

    Except the study was about action games, and the improvement was in speed, not accuracy.

    From the summary:

    action based video games train people to make quick, accurate decisions.

    Speed and accuracy.

    I'll just assume you're not a gamer, shall I?

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  8. Re:Apparently not... by meteficha · · Score: 2, Funny

    NetHack isn't an action based video game.