Are Games as Bad as They Say?

Should modern problems be blamed on video games? Many people believe that video games are the root of all evil. They are convinced that all strife on Earth is caused by the evils of interactive entertainment technology. Although there are some negative effects, studies show that the positive effects may outweigh them.  If not played to excess, video and computer games are beneficial because they aid in the development of social skills, problem solving and, in some special cases, fitness.

The first area that video and computer gaming benefits is the area of social skills. “Children with an inferiority complex, lack of self-confidence are seen to be gaining help from playing video games… A lonely child can acquire social presence after becoming a fan of video games: (Manali Oak.) One may find it easier to attempt to fine-tune social skills online, rather than in a group – however, one may also come across the more unsavory characters in life in the game as well, which is a minor hindrance. Overall, playing an online game may be an opportune way to approach the real-world community and develop their reactions toward it.

Another area of benefit is problem-solving. “Playing video games involves problem solving, planning, estimation and analysis of the moves or actions of both you and your opponent. This affects the player positively by developing in him/her problem-solving skills, analytical and estimation skills and quick decision-making” (Manali Oak).Many games force the utilization of problem-solving skills to progress further in the game, frequently looking at a problem in a way that is “Outside-the-box“. One such game, a famous MMORPG called RuneScape, frequently requires the player to unscramble anagrams, navigate mazes, solve the occasional Sudoku and solve other various puzzles to progress further in the game.

Physical fitness is also a benefit of some select games. A rather famous example is the Wii game system. Although a person who wants to get stronger should have a fairly strenuous workout regimen, the game Wii fit is a decent way to keep the exerceophobe out of the hospital for a triple bypass. This game is a good alternative for those who would rather not go to the gym (Due to traumatic locker-room incidents in high school, possibly) or simply live a long ways away from a workout center. These games are a good way to introduce the nerdling to the concept of fitness. Further advances in video games in the future may provide more alternatives to those who aren’t fond of simply pumping weights.

Now that we have taken a closer look at these so called “Denizens of evil”, it is clear to see that there are benefits to certain video games, that aid socially, mental, and physically. One should keep in mind that video games are unquestionably a better alternative to the widely accepted television, which has none of these benefits.

WORKS CITED:

Manali Oak [http://www.buzzle.com/articles/positive-effects-of-video-games.html]

Jagex http://www.runescape.com/title.ws

Matt Casamassina http://wii.ign.com/articles/875/875214p1.html

Despite what I’ve said here, I recommend discretion when playing games. You won’t gain anything from playing “Grand Theft Auto”.

Cause and effect essay

Ok, I finally gave up trying to figure out what my teacher’s e-mail was supposed to mean.^[3] I’m posting this essay up here anyhow.

Que Pasa?

English 10

10/13/2009

“Cause and effect essay”, Final Copy

Pollution has become a major issue in Penang, much like other developing areas. Over the past thirty years, there has been a tremendous amount of growth in the region – and a blatant ignorance (or is it apathy?) concerning the environmental impact of rapid industrialization is beginning to show.

Industry is rapidly destroying the area. The air is full of smog, to the point where on some days you cannot see ten feet ahead of yourself (unless you eat innumerable amounts of carrots) and you can’t walk outside unless you either

A)      Own and utilize a gas mask,

B)      Are a chain-smoker and are used to inhaling foul substances, or

C)      Can hold your breath for a really, really, long time.

It is held that this is caused by the logging industry up in Indonesia, making immense bonfires to clear out the area, although the slash-&-burn methods of the farmers there are also to blame. More than once, a state of emergency has been declared due to the poor quality of the air – Once in 1997 and again in 2005. ^[1]

Alas, the air quality isn’t the only issue on this island. Some high-rise apartment buildings pump their sewage and dishwater straight out into the ocean, bypassing the water-treatment plants for the sake of saving money. This filth has built up on the oceanfront along Gurney drive, and consequently, the place smells like an outhouse. Not to mention the waterway between my apartment and the school, which the locals refer to as “Stinking creek”. If it has another name, I’ve never heard it.

Finally, I’d like to point out that this place uses something that Mr. Steinkamp calls the “Garbage barge”.

A three-hundred by fifty foot barge, filled to the brim with refuse, is towed about ten miles out to sea – where the contents of said barge are dumped into the sea. Ocean currents bring it back inland, so this problem doesn’t seem to be solvable by tossing it out into the water.

And for those of you who see things in a purely economical light – Penang tourism has fallen every year for the last decade, attributed to the fact that the beaches and water are a mess. ^[2] Toxic atmosphere probably doesn’t help.

^[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Malaysian_haze

^[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang – Concerns_about_Penang_beaches (All links were accessed on 10/13/09)

^{[3] I got a rather… “interesting” e-mail saying that I needed a concluding paragraph. The paragraph with the [2] in it IS the concluding paragraph.}

Narrative Essay

This one was actually kind of fun to write, as opposed to “Cause and effect essay”. By the way, does anyone know how to change the font on these posts?

I was assigned a narrative essay for school. At least, I thought I was. I spent every one of the in-class working periods trying to figure what the parameters of the assignment was. Alas, my teacher was in the hospital, so all of the answers I got were distorted by a fog of painkillers.

Dad wanted me to write about the county fair we used to go to in the states. I pointed out that this might be a bad idea, as I hadn’t been to this fair since we left the country – I had been in the fifth grade the last time I was there, so I didn’t exactly remember much.

I hit upon an idea – what if I write a narrative essay about me trying to write this narrative  essay? Hey, the assignment was due tomorrow, Daniel went and blabbed this idea to Dad, and then he came and started berating me. “This isn’t a narrative essay!” he said. “This is an expository essay!” I don’t exactly understand the difference. Daniel tried to defend me, but I doubt my father was convinced, as my brother doesn’t know the difference betwixt the two kinds of essays either. Then Daniel started reading over my shoulder, parroting my lines, but then my father banished him to his room. “O.K., Daniel, time for bed!” I looked up the word “extradited”, found it didn’t have the definition I thought it did, and substituted the word “banished” instead, as I believed it to be more appropriate.

My mind wandered, and I found myself thinking about how, just a few minutes before, my father’s eyes were bugging out at the requirement of “5-7 drafts with visible revisions”, and how he had passionately declared “That kills trees!”

Breaking my train of thought, I heard his voice admonishing my brother for still being awake. My father then exited Daniel’s room, tossed a popcorn bag in the trash, and our cat came waddling over. Well, not really OUR cat. It’s technically my mother’s cat, but it’s me and Dad (Mostly dad, though) that have to take care of it. Suddenly, my mother popped out of nowhere and insisted upon reading through how much I written so far. Fortunately, she didn’t read far enough to get to the part where I was ranting about how Dad and I have to care for her cat.

Back to the cat. The creature looks like it was inflated like a balloon, and it has a bald patch on it’s rear end that grows larger by the day. Said mangy beast has discovered that we keep the cat food under the sink (Just to the left of the trash can,) so whenever we try to throw something out, he comes shambling over and attempts to force himself under the sink to get at the cat food. He has succeeded a number of times, but has actually only gotten into the kibble once.

I paused at this moment to remove a termite that had somehow managed to fly into the keyboard. I tried to think of more things to write, but my head was filled by the grotesque sounds of my mother’s mangy cat taking a bath. HORK HACK GAHHK…

I realized that I had been doing the assignment in “Helvetica” rather than “Times new Roman”. Recalling that the school policy required all work to be done in this font, I changed my lettering style. I have known this policy for over three years now, but I still don’t understand the reasoning behind it. I remember asking a teacher in my first year whether I could do the assignment in “Helvetica”, as that was the font I was used to. My teacher admonished me, and practically threatened a failing grade if I didn’t type in the almighty required font. I wonder if they forbid “Helvetica” because it contains the syllable, “Hel”. It seems logical, seeing as plenty of other things are banned from this school for seemingly obscure reasons. I can’t really go into details, as I’m almost out of page space, and a bunch of teachers are demanding that we use as little paper as possible – Including Mr. Steinkamp, who has required that I confine this to a single page. However, given that we have to turn in half a dozen drafts, this doesn’t really seem like it will save that much paper, when viewed percentage-wise.