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Studies

by Mike Masnick

Tue, Jul 5th 2005 2:43am





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.

9 Comments | Leave a Comment

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  1.  
    identicon
    dorpus, Jul 5th, 2005 @ 7:23am

    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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  2.  
    identicon
    Permanent4, Jul 5th, 2005 @ 9:59am

    Two words...

    Johan Santana. ;^)

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  3.  
    identicon
    Greg W, Jul 5th, 2005 @ 7:52pm

    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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  4.  
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    Anonymous Coward, May 2nd, 2007 @ 9:45am

    cool

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  5.  
    identicon
    4353er, May 23rd, 2009 @ 12:48am

    er3

    China printing industry developed this years, who can tell us? China based plastic injection molding services with low costs and supeior quality Steel and aluminum scaffolding for construction is a very useful tool.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  6.  
    identicon
    China Tent, Oct 9th, 2010 @ 12:52am

    Ha, that’s actually a really good suggestion. Thanks so much for this!

    　　This is all very new to me and this article really opened my eyes.Thanks for sharing with us your wisdom.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  7.  
    identicon
    China Tent, Oct 9th, 2010 @ 12:56am

    Ha, that’s actually a really good suggestion. Thanks so much for this!

    　　This is all very new to me and this article really opened my eyes.Thanks for sharing with us your wisdom.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  8.  
    identicon
    China Tent, Oct 9th, 2010 @ 12:56am

    Ha, that’s actually a really good suggestion. Thanks so much for this!

    　　This is all very new to me and this article really opened my eyes.Thanks for sharing with us your wisdom.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  9.  
    identicon
    China Tent, Oct 9th, 2010 @ 1:00am

    Amazing stuff,Thanks so much for this!This is very useful post for me. This will absolutely going to help me in my projects .

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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