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September 27, 2005
Steven Johnson
This week's speaker was Steven Johnson, former editor of feed and recently the publisher of Everything Bad is Good For You. He followed our reaction to Vito Acconchi. Though entertaining, I just don't buy where Johnson is coming from. Either he is maverick and too out there for me or he just isn't saying anything substantial. I would say that he has proven that television and video games aren't as bad as we all think they are, which may be true, but so what? He only briefly touches upon all the other things kids have been doing for years. Going outside, reading, music, etc. He doesn't have a metric to compare video games to reading nor has he done a thorough evaluation of activities which aren't mass media. His ideas are interesting but there isn't enough time for everything and video games should be lowest on the list.
Some ideas an quotes:
"Popular culture commentators say two things: Mass media is either Bad or it's so Bad the government should step in"
Games are getting harder, television stories are getting more complex due to the DVD market. There is more cognitive engagement.
You cannot judge a new medium by an old one. (true. But we do have to judge it somehow...)
Reading a book is not making judgements like in video games. Kids play game together, reading isolates more than games.
Television is getting more complicated. The old rules of television were established by Postman (taught at NYU):
- do not induce perplexity
- no prerequisites in all programs
- avoid exposition
Hill Street Blues was the first complicated show. Economics reward shows that require multiple viewings.
Posted by mb2811 at September 27, 2005 03:18 AM