Porqué la cultura pop nos hace más inteligentes

Steven Johnson, escritor de libros de divulgación científica (Emergence, Sistemas Emergentes (FCE) en español es mi favorito) acaba de publicar Everything bad is good for you, y nos explica porqué la cultura pop nos está haciendo más inteligentes, en especial a los niños. Lo entrevistó Laura Barcella de AlterNet. "El argumenta que el entretenimiento másivo se ha hecho más cognitivamente retador en los pasados 30 años, y que los programas de televisión de hoy - particularmente los dramas con multi historias como Lost y 24 - nos han ayudado a aprender a tener enfoque, paciencia, retención, y "el entretejido de redes narrativas" ", comenta Barcella.

Un fragmento de la entrevista:

"So why do you think some people are resistant to the idea that pop culture isn't all bad?

Well, it's a couple of different things. It's the oldest complaint in the cultural book that whatever the kids are up to today is no good. [Laughter.]

We went through this with rock n' roll, and now we're going through it with video games. And there is this technological learning curve, particularly with interactive stuff and games, where not only do [older people] not get it, but they literally can't sit down and ... understand how to play. There's part of kids' culture that the older generation just literally hasn't seen.

Part of what I was trying to do in the book is to walk people through what you actually do when you play video games, so that they would understand the complexity.

Also, I think there's this nostalgia ... it's quaint to go back and look at these TV shows from the '70s. You know, they are sweet in some ways, but they just really aren't as smart.

One of the things that I like to do when I talk in person is to show a few minutes from [the first season of] "Dallas." You just can't believe how slow and plodding and predicable it was. And back then it was [considered] the hottest, raciest show on television! Everybody was like, "Ooh, scandalous -- 'Dallas.'".... "

BoingBoing también hace una buena crítica del libro, que ya muero por leer.