Trivial Pursuit Pop-Culture = Higher IQ ?!?!

 

That’s right… according to “Close-Up on Controversy” Pop culture is making people more intelligent. So does that mean that in addition to asking Johnny if he finished his math homework, parents are going to be asking “have you played your Halo for the day?”

 

According to the article, Pop culture is making us smarter, but it is also making us dumber… that is correct -- another double-edged theory.

 

Steve Johnson, author of the book “Everything Bad is Good for You” states that story lines in sitcoms are becoming more complex than they were 30 years ago. The story lines of sitcoms like CHiPS and Happy Days, followed simple, single storylines of a few characters. Today’s shows, like the Office, and House follow many different plot lines and characters.

 

Why do the new shows follow a more complex story line… have people really been getting smarter because of increasingly difficult story plot lines in their favorite shows? Well even though correlation is not causation, the correlation is definitely strong.

 

 According to a study of IQ tests from 1920 - present, people have been getting smarter. Those in the top 10 percent of the 1920’s population would now be within the bottom third of today’s population IQ range. (Malcolm Gladwell, “Brain Candy”)

 

Education level has indeed increased over the last 88 years and has had a significant impact on IQs increasing. The increased IQ of individuals has led to the creation of more “cranial stimulating” television shows and video games.

 

So does television make us smarter? Well today’s television shows are… complicated due to Multi-threading, the use of many narrative threads of many characters that weave together to form an intricate television show. Shows are complex and full of references to political issues, classic films, philosophy, religion and other current events.

 

South Park is a great example of a modern television show stocked full of intelligent references to politics, current events and classic films. The show is irreverent and rude, however it had dealt with some intelligent issues in less than intelligent forms; and many young people use this as a way to gain information on the current world and its happenings.

 

South Park is a gateway to becoming informed on the world around us. South Park presents modern and pertinent issues in an entertaining form; this causes many young people to do research into the issues that are being expressed. This research makes people use critical thinking skills while analyzing the issues via different media sources to form an opinion on the issue(s). South Park is popular culture in itself, and I believe it, and most other shows are indeed making us smarter.

 

So what about video games… don’t they “fry your brain like an egg”… and yes I am referencing a cheesy PSA -- your brain on drugs. Many compare video games to a drug that simply steals your brain cells. However many argue that video games make people use critical thinking skills. Games like Halo and Call of Duty cause players use their minds to make accurate and intricate decisions that could affect the entire mission in a mater of seconds… like Chess on “crack”—Yes that is Pee-Wee Herman. Video games are a fun way to exercise critical thinking skills that players often do not realize they are using.

 

Like television shows, video games have become more advanced in their use of critical thinking skills. Look at Pac-Man of 1982 vs. Call of Duty 5. Yes Pac man forces the player to make quick decisions, yet those decisions consist of left, right, up, or down. Call of Duty however makes player make intricate decisions including all of the aforementioned actions in addition to say 30 more in one second. Players can switch weapons, duck for cover, and do many other things, and they must decide even quicker than the Pac-man expert.

 

Video Games and TV are indeed making people smarter by making them exercise critical thinking skills. The TV watcher must use critical thinking in order to form opinions on the issues satirized on South Park, while Call of Duty gamer must make split second decisions that could mean mission over or mission complete.