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Reader Comments (19)

Posted: Feb 19th 2007 11:21PM (Unverified) said

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They should see if playing Phoenix Wright makes you a better lawyer...

...or just makes your view of the court system laughable.
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Posted: Feb 19th 2007 11:26PM mezzaninex said

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Jack Thompson's head just exploded.
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Posted: Feb 19th 2007 11:45PM (Unverified) said

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I believe it, sort of: I had a Lumbar puncture (spinal tap) some years back, and the doctors and I talked about Super Mario 64 and Pokemon Snap the whole time.

It was the best spinal procedure I've ever had.
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Posted: Feb 19th 2007 11:51PM D3m0sthenes said

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Gamers also make better murderers and rapists... and guitar players... and dancers...
XD
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 12:24AM IcedEagle said

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Does playing Defcon make me a better nuclear war tactician? :D
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 12:44AM (Unverified) said

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something about dexterity, concentration, hand/eye coordination, and reflexes... this isn't a huge stretch. It should be common sense.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 1:16AM (Unverified) said

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But sadly, Wii Sports doesn't teach you how to be a better Baseball Player. Sorry guys.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 2:06AM religiousjedi said

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And me Dad wants me to break all my Ninty consoles and handhelds to pieces...HA!
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 2:17AM Mike Knew said

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im not to sure about the nine hour thing. I play games for at least nine hours a week andi don't consider myself to aggresive and i dont have oo bad grades. I just finished a three hour play of vagrant story.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 5:25AM (Unverified) said

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I am a surgeon in training and I have an Xbox 360 and Wii. I think playing games definitely has given me a slight advantage when it comes to procedural skills, especially those that are done through a TV screen (laparoscopic "keyhole" surgery and colonoscopies/gastroscopies). Not that I would admit it to my colleagues though...
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 8:56AM medeasin said

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#4: I play a lot of video games and I've done a lot of lumbar punctures. Video game skills and manual dexterity have very little to do with these one-shot procedures. It has more to do with knowing where to go and how to use the procedural tools. As well as luck and the size of the patient.

Playing video games does help with learning how to do endoscopies but this advantage equals out with the more endoscopies one does.

There was a study over ten years ago at U of Mich I believe that compared manual dexterity among surgeons versus other physicians. The surgeons were no more dextrous and even slightly less (though insignificantly so).

Above all, knowledge and experience makes a better surgeon. Playing video games probably helps during your early residency years most likely.

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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 9:57AM (Unverified) said

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Atleast now I can tell me collegues and my future attending, I'm just training for my boards...Please believe Trauma Center was a game I bought with my Wii on day 1.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 11:29AM Swifty said

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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 11:32AM (Unverified) said

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Maybe it's a concentration thing more than a hand-eye coordination thing. Doctors with DS's know better how to relieve their stress, relax, and clear their minds to concentrate on the task at hand. The Zone is a powerful place to be, as any shmup fan would agree. Maybe playing three hours a week is opening the door to The Zone a little wider for those guys.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 12:03PM WhatIsThatThing said

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I remember my grandfather telling me about a similar article...about two or three years ago. Either way though, it's still interesting.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 12:13PM (Unverified) said

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Did they ever consider that playing *only* 9 hours makes you aggressive and bad at school? During my school days I would sometimes play 30-40 hours a week and I still had a 3.9-4.0 GPA. Oh well.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 12:38PM Sarge said

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Gah, this whole "Games are good for you, but can never be bad for you" tack is driving me crazy. You can't have it both ways!

That being said, I don't doubt the validity of this particular study. It makes sense, hand-eye coordination and all that.

Remember, folks, absence of proof is not the same thing as proof of absence. Just because someone hasn't proven something empirically doesn't mean that it's untrue. I believe that games CAN have negative effects AND positive effects. People would get off our backs if certain people would just shut up and just acknowledge that. Maybe Jack Thompson would finally go away.

Sarge out.
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 3:08PM BPMOmega XBL PSN Steam said

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LET'S BEGIN THE OPERATION!
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Posted: Feb 20th 2007 7:06PM Mr Khan said

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@ Sarge

"The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence"

lol Boondocks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3AFfpjIEPk
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