by James Logue
NEWS EDITOR
I don't know what to make of all these scientific studies lately. Researchers have determined that you can eat all the bacon you want -- as suggested by the late Dr. Atkins -- and you can lose weight and not clog your arteries.
Go figure.
Then, on Thursday, the University of Rochester published a study that found that young adults who play video games all the time have better visual skills than those who don't.
In other words, video games are good for you. Just like bacon.
Next thing you know, someone will say toxic waste is good for your digestion.
I've never been one to get into video games, especially the ones with all the blood and gore. The only video game I really enjoy is an old version of Tetris on my ancient computer at home.
I've found Tetris to be challenging, yet no one gets his head blown off.
Tetris is a game in which you try to eliminate rows of rapidly falling blocks. If the screen fills up with rows of blocks, you lose. You're able to manipulate the falling blocks with the keyboard. If you are really good, you can rack up a pretty high score and, possibly, a Nike contract.
I have found Tetris to be quite addictive, actually. I can play well into the wee hours of the morning, or at least until my carpal tunnel cries for mercy.
But does all this mean I have better visual skills? Am I able to process information faster than the non-video game player? Should I be working at NASA instead of the copy desk?
And what about those people who play the bloody and violent video games? Do they, too, have sharpened visual acuity and violent tendencies? And should they be eating more bacon?
So many questions. I think I'm going to decompress a little and get in a few games of Pong.
