Video Gamers Still Have Better Visual Scanning Abilities
from the ok,-ok,-we-get-it... dept
We've had plenty of stories pointing out ways that video games can be beneficial in some way or another, including improved visual skills. So, it should come as no surprise that yet another study is pointing out the exact same thing, saying that video game players are better at scanning the world around them quickly. That makes sense, given the fact that video games often train people to scan the environment around them as quickly as possible. The researcher in charge of this project even points out that the improved scanning speed could help someone avoid a car accident -- but that it takes an awful lot of gaming to improve visual scanning speed by any useful amount. Of course, as if going out of his way to avoid giving any more fodder for Steven Johnson's treatise, the researcher makes it clear that this shouldn't be seen as meaning that video games are somehow "good" for you, but just that it can, in certain situations, speed up your ability to scan the environment.
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Hell Yeah
I was playing "Elite Forces: Vietnam" all night long, spending hours crawling around the jungle on a photo-realistic high-end graphics card, so the next day when I drove into a parking lot, a baby jumped out, I stopped. Most people would have let their guard down then, but because I'd been in the jungle all night before, I was mentally prepared for the idea that the danger wasn't over -- sure enough, the mother jumped out too, and the baby made a U-turn in front of me.
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Two words...
Johan Santana. ;^)
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I dont know about driving
I find after 10+ years of computer use since 14 that I am very good at quickly scanning an environment and finding what I am looking for. I often find it frustrating watching other people use their computer because they take 10+ seconds for them to find something, where as it is almost instantaneous for myself.
Though, for me, that doesn't really translate to driving.
I guess the difference I would say is that on the computer I am actively looking for soemthing. Some thing specific. Where as on the road it is more passive unless it is a dangerous situation like driving past a school or around lots of people.
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cool
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