So, TV or video games—or both?

'“Evolved,” you ask? Oh, yes. Here is her argument: Since the introduction of World of Warcraft, its players have invested a collective 5.93 million years in making the stockholders of Activision Blizzard very happy. And 5.93 million years is a decent approximation of the length of time that has elapsed since the first hominid stood erect. So, you see? Of course, by that logic, the high school class of 1962, which has spent a collective 16.3 million years sleeping since graduation, are even more evolved. We should probably all have those big bulbous, hairless heads that science fiction has so often predicted. (Some of us have at least mastered the hairless part.)

“Reality is broken” is her premise, and I have no doubt that typical gamers would agree. There’s no arguing with the premise, for the simple reason that it is meaningless, except perhaps as a way of avoiding the fact that reality is hard. But it has a certain buzz value, and it got this PhD holder in “performance studies” her 20 minutes onstage at TED, where every idea is a Big Idea.' Robert McHenry

This observation that millions of hours are being wasted on video games, also applies as well to the time spent in front of a TV. Curiously, in the military we have used both techniques to increase the performance of our sailors and soldiers, and there are video games that are challenging and complex scenarios (simCity, simAnt ... series or Civilization come to mind), but like all things in life—too much of a 'good' thing can become an evil.