Elise's review
Everything Bad is Good for You
by Steven Johnson
Elise's review
Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson
Elise's review
rating:
recommended for: Mom, Dad, gamers and couch potatoes
What's nice about Steven Johnson's Everything Bad Is Good For You is that you can finish it in several short sittings. Three cheers for that. The book is quick and succinct, an easy but thoughtful and though-provoking read.
Johnson argues that over the last three decades, popular culture has become more complex, sophisticated and challenging, in spite of everybody's eagerness to dub it "lowbrow fluff." That is, for all the crap they get, programs on "the idiot box" and "those damn video games" are actually more of a brain workout than most critics are willing to give them credit for...
I like some of his arguments (which are too in-depth and numerous to summarize here), although there are times when the logic gets a bit patchy and I just don't buy it. That said, I can't wait to tell Mom and Dad that all those years of sitting at the computer, eyes glazed, playing Commander Keen Episode IV: Aliens Ate My Babysitter would actually improve...more
Johnson argues that over the last three decades, popular culture has become more complex, sophisticated and challenging, in spite of everybody's eagerness to dub it "lowbrow fluff." That is, for all the crap they get, programs on "the idiot box" and "those damn video games" are actually more of a brain workout than most critics are willing to give them credit for...
I like some of his arguments (which are too in-depth and numerous to summarize here), although there are times when the logic gets a bit patchy and I just don't buy it. That said, I can't wait to tell Mom and Dad that all those years of sitting at the computer, eyes glazed, playing Commander Keen Episode IV: Aliens Ate My Babysitter would actually improve...more
