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I have a short, but very open ended question to ask, which will hopefully produce a good discussion. I use the term 'smart' because it is ambiguous, and I want to see how people interpret my question.
Do RTS games make you smarter?
I'm tending to think they do in a variety of ways, however I'm hoping that it doesn't just make you smarter at RTS games, but in general.
Let's use Starcraft 2.
The examples in parentheses are just examples.
- Decision making (Will the decision to attack/back off/work on macro be worth it?)
- Forward thinking (Based on 'x' set of circumstances what do I need to prepare for?)
- Deductive reasoning (Based on the information that I have attained, can I deduce that he will be going for 'x' build?.)
- Inductive reasoning (I've just scouted 4 Warpgates, I should expect a 4gate push very soon.)
I don't want to add anymore. I would rather you interpret what I asked for yourself.
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I don't think you can say it makes you smarter. I find RTS games to be helpful as they improve/support a certain way of thinking and dealing with problems which can be found in various aspects of life.
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I don't think they make you smarter persay, but perhaps playing SCII in moderation may help to keep your mind active and sharp, considering it requires you to use reflexes, decision making, etc.
Edit: Moreover, people don't get smarter as time progresses. Everyone is born with a certain degree of "intelligence" (whatever that means), and I doubt people will become more so as they mature.
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Nah, I'm as stupid as ever 
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I think it's more like RTS attract smarter people.
The again let's not kid ourselves, we really aren't much smarter than the average population if you look at it from a realistic perspective. Hardcore gamers just have different values I suppose.
Edit: Getting better at Starcraft improves reflexes. For most part that's what SC2 is - knowing what to do from previous experiences, whether it's knowing if your army can take your opponents, subconcious micro. It improves your mouse speed too, but I don't believe it makes you smarter.
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Hmm well Starcraft has certainly made me more self-critical and self-aware of my strengths and weaknesses, which also apply to real-life aswell. Take for example decision making in stressful and uncomfortable situations, I usually do quite bad decisions irl/sc. This was highlighted in SC and I'm currently in progress of trying to build up a proper mindset for it.
I think generally when you really try improving in certain tasks, you'll haft to eventually recognize and accept your weaknesses in order to progress.
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Yes, mostly because I believe it trains your brain to perform tasks and react faster. Intelligence to me is similar in a way to how we compare computers. Most modern computers have the same basic capabilities and the thing that makes some computers better than others is the speed in which they perform and process tasks.
It's fairly obvious that RTS games improve our "processing speed" in that as we get better at them, we are more capable of quickly determining what we need to do, how, and when to do it.
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Yeah, I mean you can't gain any knowledge about anything but SC2, but playing SC2 improves on skills that you already have. I agree =)
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I wouldn't say it makes you 'smarter.' You already pointed out that your reasoning skills are tested and extended. Playing RTS forces you to organize your thinking, too.
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I don't they make you smarter. They do give an opportunity that you can just utilize certain parts of your brain that you don't really use on a normal basis.
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+ Show Spoiler +I have a short, but very open ended question to ask, which will hopefully produce a good discussion. I use the term 'smart' because it is ambiguous, and I want to see how people interpret my question.
Does running drugs make you smarter?
I'm tending to think they do in a variety of ways, however I'm hoping that it doesn't just make you smarter at RTS games, but in general.
Let's use Cocaine Smuggling.
The examples in parentheses are just examples.
- Decision making (Will the decision to sell/grow/smuggle be worth it?)
- Forward thinking (Based on 'x' set of circumstances what do I need to prepare for?)
- Deductive reasoning (Based on the information that I have attained, can I deduce that he is an undercover cop and will bust my ass?)
- Inductive reasoning (I've just scouted the background of this guy and it came up cop, I should expect a sting at our transaction.)
I don't want to add anymore. I would rather you interpret what I asked for yourself.
In short, I don't know if it will makes one "smarter" because the term "smarter" is an objective measure. By your measures being used, everything in life should make one smarter. But they don't. That's because one doesn't have to choose to learn from the experience. One can play SC2 and not get smarter just because they aren't thinking critically. Just like idiots can go on dealing drugs and keep getting busted over and over again. So no, RTS games don't inherently make you smarter by your playing them, they just give you another opportunity to use critical thinking. The question of whether playing video games stimulates learning centers in the brain though, IS an interesting question and studies HAVE shown that they do increase spatial skills in people.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W52-46H16MP-4&_user=10&_coverDate=03/31/1994&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1710083030&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=f06b223cfbd142812f40216473d570b6&searchtype=a
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I think it can really shape you in your characteristics as a person... at least that's what day9 says that happened with him xD
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The high-school quarterback may be an all-star, but he doesn't necessarily get good grades. I'm just sayin...
But, if you have the ability to apply this critical thinking to Starcraft, then you could just as well apply it to other life aspects as well. Does it make you smarter? Probably not, but if you are "dumb" and became good at Starcraft, then you have the potential to become "smart" and are just not applying yourself.
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On April 08 2011 08:52 kurse3 wrote:
I have a short, but very open ended question to ask, which will hopefully produce a good discussion. I use the term 'smart' because it is ambiguous, and I want to see how people interpret my question.
Do RTS games make you smarter?
I'm tending to think they do in a variety of ways, however I'm hoping that it doesn't just make you smarter at RTS games, but in general.
Let's use Starcraft 2.
The examples in parentheses are just examples.
- Decision making (Will the decision to attack/back off/work on macro be worth it?)
- Forward thinking (Based on 'x' set of circumstances what do I need to prepare for?)
- Deductive reasoning (Based on the information that I have attained, can I deduce that he will be going for 'x' build?.)
- Inductive reasoning (I've just scouted 4 Warpgates, I should expect a 4gate push very soon.)
I don't want to add anymore. I would rather you interpret what I asked for yourself.
If you have trouble following basic human logic and deriving conclusions from it, I doubt that your main concern right now should be how vide games affect your life.
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I feel like it greatly reduces my attention span to 1 thing.
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On April 08 2011 09:00 ryanAnger wrote:
Yes, mostly because I believe it trains your brain to perform tasks and react faster. Intelligence to me is similar in a way to how we compare computers. Most modern computers have the same basic capabilities and the thing that makes some computers better than others is the speed in which they perform and process tasks.
It's fairly obvious that RTS games improve our "processing speed" in that as we get better at them, we are more capable of quickly determining what we need to do, how, and when to do it.
Being smart is being able to solve problems, not the time it takes you to do so. So your analogy doesn't hold up very well. Unlike computers which operate on the same basic principles some people's brains are actually able to solve problems that you and I can't.
Anyway, computergames in general have been shown to train reflexes. It obviously doesn't make you smarter, though. It might help you process information faster in general, and it definently trains your multitaskingability if you're playing the game at a serious level.
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I don't think you can really make the claim they make you smarter. There is some descion making and tactics so its better than say watching T.V.
I think its probabbly good when your first learning to play a new RTS because your thinking all the time and learning to play the game. Then perhaps its good when you are actively making descions based on what your opponet is doing. But most of playing a RTS becomes practicing the same things over and over untill your doing them perfectly and not really thinking about them any more just muscle memory (like doing a skateboard trick 'body do this trick..... thank you') and once you get pretty good even the descion probabbly starts to become an automatic reaction to seeing what the opponent is doing ( I don't know by the way I'm not very good at any RTS).
Every now and then you see some really clever builds sometimes that make you think 'that guys really thought about this'. Look at the OSL champion he really thinks about how hes gonna play on every map a lot before he goes into it. Why hes so much better in indivdual leagues and not quite as good in pro-league, less time to prepare.
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It test your critical thinking skills and can help someone learn how to better manage time/resources.
but honestly I think most people who play starcraft are just going through motions and recognizing patterns.
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It's not a concern about how they affect my life. I'm not concerned. It was a just a question to solicit discussion, as I am interested.
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It promotes being more efficient and doing things faster for damn sure ^^
Gogo multitasking too.
I notice myself when I cook doing things a lot faster xD
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EPT
