The Sleeper Curve

In today's New York Times Magazine, there is an article titled Watching TV Makes You Smarter (registration may be required) by Steven Johnson where he introduces the phrase the Sleeper Curve. I quote:

"This is what I call the Sleeper Curve: the most debased forms of mass diversion -- video games and violent television dramas and juvenile sitcoms -- turn out to be nutritional after all."

Huh?

The thesis presented in this entertaining and thought provoking article is that television shows have become much more layered, more subtle in the storylines and much more complex overall. (He suggests comparing a Bonanza episode to an episode of 24. I think about comparing Dallas to Desperate Housewives.)

Without going into the reasons he suggests that this is happening, the point is that many of the newer shows are much more stimulating to our brain than their predecessors. Per the author "... the mind also likes to be challenged; there's real pleasure to be found in solving puzzles, detecting patterns or unpacking a complex narrative system."

I share this with you not because this blog is about television or pop culture. I share it because of the connection to how we learn and that there could be some good news in what the television medium is providing us (beyond Discover, The History Channel and Animal Planet).

It also reminds us that it is always good to examine our existing beliefs/assumptions - like the one that says most everything on television has no redeeming value - and see if there is more or different information behind those assumptions.

The article is a preview of Johnson's upcoming book, Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter.

I've pre-ordered my copy.

Also posted in Creativity and Training.

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