{"id":5491,"date":"2015-03-02T09:09:44","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T14:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kasperskydaily.com\/uk\/?p=5491"},"modified":"2017-05-18T13:50:55","modified_gmt":"2017-05-18T12:50:55","slug":"can-video-games-make-you-smarter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/can-video-games-make-you-smarter\/5491\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Video Games Make You Smarter?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last year one idea attracted a great deal of attention: PC games may be used to develop intellectual \u2014 or, more precisely, cognitive \u2014 abilities. The idea is probably as old as the games themselves, but, until recently, was viewed a bit sceptically.<\/p>\n

\"FB\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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And here is why. Intelligence was considered\u00a0to be primarily\u00a0hereditary\u00a0(thus, a permanent attribute) back in 1890s. Despite this, things began to change when scientific papers were released showing how adults intellectual abilities could be boosted through specialised cognitive training.<\/p>\n

A number of commercial programs emerged in response to this discovery: the creators of those programs claimed to \u2018train the brain\u2019 of young people and maintain the elderly\u2019s intellectual abilities in good shape. Such projects were mostly based on training modules and employed gaming\u00a0as a main driver.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0a question arises: can one benefit from video games which already exist and which are\u00a0not primarily meant as \u2018brain trainers?\u2019<\/p>\n

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What is intelligence?<\/h3>\n

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Now, let\u2019s understand the means of boosting the intelligence. First and foremost, we need to clarify the terms. Psychology describes intelligence as a set of different cognitive abilities. Intelligence can be \u2018crystallized\u2019 and \u2018fluid\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fluid intelligence is dealing with abstract thinking and it is fluid intelligence that wears out year by year, and this is the reason why elderly people have problems mastering new skills like Internet or new foreign language<\/div>\n

Crystallized intelligence is responsible for making proper use of previously accumulated abilities and knowledge. Fluid intelligence is a bit more enigmatic; it is dealing with abstract thinking and serves to solve unknown challenges which do not depend on expertise acquired before. Conundrums are a good example of such challenges.<\/p>\n

It is fluid intelligence that wears out year by year, and this is the reason why elderly people have problems mastering new skills like computers, the internet or learning a\u00a0foreign language. \u00a0However, thanks to crystallized intelligence, an elderly person still retains their prior experience.<\/p>\n

The core of fluid intelligence is the working memory which is responsible for keeping newly obtained information and using it. It is the working memory which mind-training programs try to influence.<\/p>\n

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Training programs<\/h3>\n

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There are two renowned commercial projects developed for training the working memory \u2014 Cogmed<\/a> and Jungle Memory<\/a> (both are paid programs), and many others, less familiar to the general audience.<\/p>\n

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13 ways to anti-age your brain: http:\/\/t.co\/DUg0rTuceM<\/a> #Cogmed<\/a> #LifestyleAU<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/I9swKYspg8<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Cogmed (@cogmed) February 12, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n