Everything Bad is Good for You

Bol

Tune in, turn on and get smarter ... The Simpsons, Desperate Housewives, The Apprentice, The Sopranos, Grand Theft Auto: We're constantly being told that popular culture is just mindless entertainment. But, as Steven Johnson shows, it's actually making us more intelligent. Here he puts forward a radical alternative to the endless complaints about reality TV, throwaway movies and violent video games. He shows that mass culture is actually more sophisticated and challenging than ever before. When we focus on what our minds have to do to process its complex, multilayered messages, it becomes clear that it's not dumbing us down - but smartening us up.

Bol Partner

An analytical argument for the intellectual benefits of popular elements from modern pop culture, including video games and reality TV programs, explains how today's electronic games and television shows have contributed to higher IQ scores and may be helping people to develop improve cognitive abilities. Reprint. 75,000 first printing.