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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.0973
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Riverhead Hardcover
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 256
Printing Date: May 05, 2005
Publishing house: Riverhead Hardcover
Sale Popularity Level: 18737
Studio: Riverhead Hardcover
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Product Description:
From the author of the New York Times bestseller Mind Wide Open comes a groundbreaking assessment of popular culture as it's never been considered before: through the lens of intelligence.
The $10 billion video gaming industry is now the second-largest segment of the entertainment industry in the United States, outstripping film and far surpassing books. Reality television shows featuring silicone-stuffed CEO wannabes and bug-eating adrenaline junkies dominate the ratings. But prominent social and cultural critic Steven Johnson argues that our popular culture has never been smarter.
Drawing from fields as diverse as neuroscience, economics, and literary theory, Johnson argues that the junk culture we're so eager to dismiss is in fact making us more intelligent. A video game will never be a book, Johnson acknowledges, nor should it aspire to be-and, in fact, video games, from Tetris to The Sims to Grand Theft Auto, have been shown to raise IQ scores and develop cognitive abilities that can't be learned from books. Likewise, successful television, when examined closely and taken seriously, reveals surprising narrative sophistication and intellectual demands.
Startling, provocative, and endlessly engaging, Everything Bad Is Good for You is a hopeful and spirited account of contemporary culture. Elegantly and convincingly, Johnson demonstrates that our culture is not declining but changing-in exciting and stimulating ways we'd do well to understand. You will never regard the glow of the video game or television screen the same way again.
Amazon.com Review:
In his fourth book, Everything Bad Is Good for You, iconoclastic science writer Steven Johnson (who used himself as a test subject for the latest neurological technology in his last book, Mind Wide Open) takes on one of the most widely held preconceptions of the postmodern world--the belief that video games, television shows, and other forms of popular entertainment are detrimental to Americans' cognitive and moral development. Everything Good builds a case to the contrary that is engaging, thorough, and ultimately convincing.
The heart of Johnson's argument is something called the Sleeper Curve--a universe of popular entertainment that trends, intellectually speaking, ever upward, so that today's pop-culture consumer has to do more 'cognitive work'--making snap decisions and coming up with long-term strategies in role-playing video games, for example, or mastering new virtual environments on the Internet-- than ever before. Johnson makes a compelling case that even today's least nutritional TV junk food–the Joe Millionaires and Survivors so commonly derided as evidence of America's cultural decline--is more complex and stimulating, in terms of plot complexity and the amount of external information viewers need to understand them, than the Love Boats and I Love Lucys that preceded it. When it comes to television, even (perhaps especially) crappy television, Johnson argues, 'the content is less interesting than the cognitive work the show elicits from your mind.'
Johnson's work has been controversial, as befits a writer willing to challenge wisdom so conventional it has ossified into accepted truth. But even the most skeptical readers should be captivated by the intriguing questions Johnson raises, whether or not they choose to accept his answers. --Erica C. Barnett
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Rated by buyers 
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Steven Johnson is a man with a mission. He begins his book with a quote from conservative columnist George Will, who complains that modern culture is abysmally stupid and is "infantilizing" our children. Johnson vigorously disagrees. His thesis is that computer games, TV, movies, and the internet are actually making us smarter.
"Everything Bad is Good for You" is divided into two parts, the very first analyzing the content of pop culture and the second investigating its effect on people. The opening section on video games is probably the best part of the book. Johnson shows that far from being simplistic, today's computer games are massively complex. To win, gamers must memorize enormous amounts of information, solve difficult puzzles, and keep many different goals in mind simultaneously.
The chapters on television and movies is less convincing, because Johnson focuses almost exclusively on numbers. Current movies and TV shows have more of everything: more characters, more plot lines, and more relationships. Johnson at one point says that a show like 24 has as many characters as a 19th century novel.
What he doesn't tackle is the question of whether more is always better. Might it be that current filmmakers quickly switch from one thing to another because the audience lacks the patience to focus for a long time? After all, "Meet the Spartans" has hundreds of characters but is generally agreed to be the most moronic film ever made. "X3" introduced dozens of characters but never left any one on screen for more than 90 seconds at a time. Or going back to those 19th century novels, we'd surely agree that the relationships in Jane Austen were much deeper and more subtle than anything we see on TV.
The second half of the book is fairly disappointing compared to the first. Johnson wants to prove that popular culture actually is driving intelligence upward. The only evidence comes from "The Flynn Effect", the observed phenomenon that average IQ scores have risen steadily over the past fifty years. While the Flynn effect does exist, Johnson only touches briefly on the question of whether IQ scores are a reliable measure of intelligence. While they may be rising, other evidence suggests that brain power is dropping. For instance, far more college students are taking remedial classes now than were a generation ago.
Ultimately "Everything Bad is Good for You" is a highly worthwhile read, but for me it was not convincing. I give Johnson credit for many things. His book is crisp, succinct, well-written, and intellectually honest. In the end, though, it does not really refute what it claims to refute. There is ample evidence of the average person growing less mature. For example, young adults take longer than ever to get married, find full time jobs, move out of their parents' houses, and do other things commonly associated with maturity. I'm afraid that George Will may have had a point after all.
Rated by buyers 
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This is a provocative book which warrants serious consideration. The author postulates that through the device of the sleeper curve, the various technological developments which pervade popular culture are not dumbing down America, but rather leading to development of a broader range of skills than credited by academic experts.
He sets out his view in sections devoted to video games, film, and very briefly, the internet, and explores the differing skills which are exercised during their consumption.
As someone who has exhibited a preference for aspects of popular culture as opposed to high culture for most of my life, the argument is very attractive at the outset. As one delves deeper into the subject serious questions arise as to whether there is a general case to answer.
Consider video games, where our author testifies to the skills required to play some of the more complex games such as Grand Theft Auto. There is a strong case to be made here but the issue is rather deflated when one considers that the vast majority of game players consume sports and other games which are considerably less complex and demanding.
Film also has a substantial longevity in the popular pantheon of leisure activities. It manages to portray a story and certain sophisticated complexities but still lacks by far the great leap forward that one achieves through reading a novel.
I would reject a notion that the use of the internet provides much of an intellectual challenge, given the degree to which internet consumers acess porn sites and where much of the content is clearly aimed at the lower end of the spectrum
Having said all of this, I believe that there is something in the authors argument, but in a more narrow sense. For myself I consider that there are a minority of people within our society who exhibit skill and knowledge improvements as a result of immersion in the complexities and sophistications of certain games, or movies or whatever. The question of whether they are smarter is debatable. I would suggest that the elite to whom I refer demonstrate aptitudes of learning from external stimuli whichare far greater that those of the general populace. This tends to suggest to me however, that those aptitudes are inherited and/or learnt from an environment and upbringing where parents encourage skills of learning and exploring, encouragement and direction etc.
All in all, a worthwhile book subject to some of the caveats which I have alluded to above.
Rated by buyers 
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This is just a feel good book for the people who do not pursue any worthwhile intellectual pursuits. Arguments are weak, and to even suggest that reality shows show a rise in culture is ludicrous, in my opinion. Those who watch reality shows basically are sitting around, watching strangers on television, and in the process not doing anything with their own lives.
My theory and my opinion is that this author may know his arguments are invalid, but he knows that so many people want justification for their inactive lifestyles that they will buy this book.
Save your money on this one and read any fine piece of literature..or if not that, then go outside and do something...do not let your life be controlled by screens (tv, computer, cell phone, etc...)
Rated by buyers -
The author made a pretty good case that some pop culture is not bad, but he does not make a strong argument it is good. I didn't read the notes section but I felt that there was a lack of supporting data in the main text for many of his statements and arguments (though he mentions a few times that "studies should be done"). He dismisses counter arguments with a few sentences: Yes, test scores in academic subjects are down, but problem solving ability is up! Yes, the content may be violent, but problem solving ability is up! I wonder just how this problem solving ability is being applied to non-entertainment situations, if at all. Does it translate into anything that leads to "good"? The book is really about video games - the other topics, TV, movies, etc. seem like padding.
Rated by buyers -
Interesting, food for thought, hard to get into and not so convincing after all. Could be a much shorter book.
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