Dumb and dumber 28 April 2005

Science writer Steven Johnson claims watching TV (and contemporary popular culture in general) in fact make us smarter (“Watching TV Makes You Smarter,” New York Times, 24 April 2004). He claims popular TV shows achieve this feat by inducing viewers to follow numerous and complicated story lines involving dozens of characters – providing them with a mental workout. Apparently, though, TV did not make him smarter. Research suggests TV affects our brains primarily through the drug-like, quasi-hypnotic effect of short cuts and flashes on the screen – not so much through its content. The media is the message, stupid… An older (2002) Scientific American article is a more reliable guide on this crucial public health/environmental issue (“Television Addiction Is No Mere Metaphor”).