Today when I was watching the morning TV, there was an interesting discussion with a brain researcher.

(Sorry this is only in Finnish without subtitles, and I don't know if it is region-restricted, ie. not visible outside Finland.)

http://www.katsomo.fi/#!/jakso/33001003/huomenta-suomi/572870/terve-aamu-aivot-ja-digimaailma

I liked how the hostess seemed to be somewhat anti-gamer, but the scientist just wouldn't confirm her anti-gaming opinions. :)

Synopsis:

- The discussion starts about whether there are ill effects for people using technology so much nowadays, like smartphones, social media etc., specifically for cognitive skills The researcher says that in lab studies people who constantly multitask in what they do (listening to music while writing to Facebook etc.), they seem to have problems with concentration. BUT, she also points out that the study can't tell yet whether this lack of concentration is due to the habit of multitasking, or if it is simply because people who have problems with concentration like to multitask more (and not concentrate only on one thing). The hen and the egg problem.

- At 2:31, the hostess brings up gaming, what (ill) effects it may have to people, but the researcher says she hasn't seen any study yet showing ill effects of gaming (to cognitive skills), but that gaming appears to enhance them, like gamers having better reaction times, better perception, better concentration and better memory, ie. it implies games might be a good tool to actually train brains.

- The hostess seems a bit annoyed by this, and comes back with "Right, but this study doesn't take into account what kind of content the games have, like violence, right?", but again the researcher says just positive things that the hostess wasn't really expecting, like that shooters seem to be the most demanding type of games offering the most positive effects to gamers, while e.g. strategic games seem to improve problem solving skills etc.

LOL! The hostess first seemed hopeful when the researcher starts talking about shooters, but then she is saying quite the opposite what the hostess was hoping. The hostess seems a bit annoyed and disappointed by the discussion afterwards.

That morning TV discussion made my day, I'm still smirking. :) Not that I expect the hostess having changed any of her opinions about gaming, games are probably still evil for her for the most part. Oh well, she doesn't have to play games if she doesn't want to.

I could teach a class with Red Dead Redemption as a catalyst. Think of it like an extended and interactive "Fact and Film"

Think about the diversity of topics that could be covered:

American Exceptionalism, Manifest Destiny, Gentrifacation, Frontier Life, Immigration, impact of new technology on hunter/gatherer societies, industrialization, the family unit as a tool of production as opposed to consumption.

It's not region-restricted, but it does require Silverlight.

Awesome.

Yessss. I remember morning TV scaremongers invited an expert on GMOs. That was glorious.
Experts on videogames unfortunately aren't welcome on Russian TV; instead, it's all crap like "Son killed parents for taking away his computer." Way to go, you took away your kid's only means of socialization and convinced him he had no other options.
Girls' boogeyman (boogeywoman?) is even more bizarre: Monster High dolls. "Oh noes, your girl will grow up thinking it's okay to look not quite perfect!"

Is this actually something you saw? o_0 That's very extreme even for sensationalist TV...

Well, not this exact phrase, of course, more like This is not a joke. Monster High dolls are seriously the #1 named target of parental anger. They still sell like hot cakes though. ("Shooters" as a category is bigger, but nutty parents don't know specific videogames by title). It's a rare TV discussion that avoids bashing Monster High, and if you google "dangerous toys" in Russian, the top result is a crackpot video about these dolls. Further down the page are translated clickbait articles about old US toys that Russian children have never been in any danger from, and a sane article about actually dangerous toys (small parts, sharp parts, poisonous knockoffs, delicious strong magnets, etc).

Here's a member of the Presidential Council of Human Rights (!!!) talking about toy bans, calling out dangerous materials, Nazi propaganda (adult historical minis with the lucky thistle?), and "American dolls which look like monsters and corpses". I guess she has nothing else to do now that illegal torture of suspects has been eliminated?.. Oh, it's legal now. Sigh.

Damn straight! You people could use some outside perspective!

Third person games for the Yankees!