Watching TV Makes You Smarter
Thesis: “I believe that the Sleeper Curve is the single most important new force altering the mental development of young people today, and I believe it is largely a force for good: enhancing our cognitive faculties, not dumbing them down.”
Thinking Outside the Idiot Box
Thesis: “In other words, if I understand correctly, watching TV teaches you to watch more TV—a truth already grasped by the makers of children's programming like Teletubbies, which is essentially a tutorial instructing toddlers in the basics of vegging out.”
I find Steven Johson’s piece more persuasive. For starters, his article is much longer and he presents more data to support his view. The article actually made me think about certain shows that I watch, and the way they make me think while I am watching them. For example, Big Bang Theory is similar to his explanation of E.R. The scene from E.R. includes a lot of medical vocabulary, but people that watched that show slowly picked up on certain terms so they understood what was happening without any formal medical training. Big Bang Theory constantly uses terminology that is common among physicists and engineers. They refer to remarks or situations from previous episodes that slowly build to result in some final story. …show more content…
The various main characters each have their own storyline and many of these intertwine. There are many small details that are easily missed, and some of these details provide foreshadowing for future episodes. I am constantly trying to guess at what will happen as the story unfolds. Steven Johnson also mentions the term “Monday-morning quaterbacking.” Game of Thrones is one of those shows where friends and I will discuss or debate what we think. These conversations can easily last for hours, which means that there was something of value to discuss in the first
Thesis: “I believe that the Sleeper Curve is the single most important new force altering the mental development of young people today, and I believe it is largely a force for good: enhancing our cognitive faculties, not dumbing them down.”
Thinking Outside the Idiot Box
Thesis: “In other words, if I understand correctly, watching TV teaches you to watch more TV—a truth already grasped by the makers of children's programming like Teletubbies, which is essentially a tutorial instructing toddlers in the basics of vegging out.”
I find Steven Johson’s piece more persuasive. For starters, his article is much longer and he presents more data to support his view. The article actually made me think about certain shows that I watch, and the way they make me think while I am watching them. For example, Big Bang Theory is similar to his explanation of E.R. The scene from E.R. includes a lot of medical vocabulary, but people that watched that show slowly picked up on certain terms so they understood what was happening without any formal medical training. Big Bang Theory constantly uses terminology that is common among physicists and engineers. They refer to remarks or situations from previous episodes that slowly build to result in some final story. …show more content…
The various main characters each have their own storyline and many of these intertwine. There are many small details that are easily missed, and some of these details provide foreshadowing for future episodes. I am constantly trying to guess at what will happen as the story unfolds. Steven Johnson also mentions the term “Monday-morning quaterbacking.” Game of Thrones is one of those shows where friends and I will discuss or debate what we think. These conversations can easily last for hours, which means that there was something of value to discuss in the first