Do Games Improve Academic Performance?

In response to the Microsoft initiative to explore the educational link to video games (basically justifying addiction to World of Warcraft because it “can encourage scientific thinking”), a junior at Fargo South High School claimed that “I’ve played a lot of puzzle-solving games and they actually help sharpen my brain,” which by itself could be a respectable claim.

Then he continued: “My reaction time has actually gone up, thanks to playing video games.” Somehow I doubt that those games sharpened her brain. I laughed when I picked up the irony of the statement.

If the Mercury News replaces the article, check this. If you laughed, please Digg this page.