Everything Bad is Good For You, by Steven Johnson

Everything Bad is Good For You, by Steven Johnson


This book is an interesting new take on how media is perceived in society today; as most media critics reference the media as harmful influences, Johnson portrays the media in a new and intellectual light.

Johnson begins his take on how such “bad” media is actually “good” for us by introducing video games, and how such intense engagement gamers face is actually giving them a cognitive workout. As gamers interact with the complex environments in video games, “they are learning the basic procedure of the scientific method,” (45). Such mental involvement in solving problems and mentally “filling in” gaps is then compared to contemporary television dramas. Shows such as The Sopranos and Law and Order demonstrate this emerging sense of plot multiplicity: “following multiple threads, keeping often densely interwoven plotlines distinct in your head as you watch,” (Johnson, 63). Part of the cognitive process that the viewer must endure to make sense of these shows is the “filling in,” or making sense of information that has been either deliberately withheld or deliberately left obscure. Johnson concludes by stating the rise in the 13.8 IQ levels of Americans within the past 46 years, (140).

Is such in intellectual increase reflecting on the increasingly complexity of video games and television shows? I believe Johnson is accurate in his theory; shows that incorporate a multi-plot storyline such as Law and Order and The Sopranos are among the highest rated in television, (65). As our society progresses, the level of intellect follows the complexities that arise, rendering us more efficient problem solvers. After reading Johnson’s novel, such an increase in potential brainpower gave me hope to thrive in a brilliantly complex future.