by ArtiSiN

Created on: April 29, 2009   Last Updated: January 26, 2010

Video games often fall on the grenade for declining grades, but does that mean too much Xbox makes you stupid? Not at all, that only proves that kids would rather play games than do their homework. The school system is what is failing us, but that’s another story for another day. Intelligence, a rather broad term, is often thrown around without regard to what the word really means. When thinking of a person with a high intelligence quotient, most people would conclude that person is a skilled math and logic problem solver. While these may be the areas of focus for traditional IQ tests, these are not the only areas of intelligence that the human mind possesses. Rather, there are a wide range of cognitive functions that make up a person’s total IQ, and many theories on how to define said functions. Intelligence can range anywhere from the more traditional, such as: analytic, logic and reason problem solving abilities; to the more creative, such as:  linguistic, spatial, musical, kinesthetic, and emotional abilities. Certainly some video games can stimulate the mind,  just as much as others can stifle it. But in this day and age video games have evolved past the mindless repetitive tasks to take on a much bigger scope, and even have come to be considered works of art.

Literature, the cornerstone to a complete education, has been around for as long as man could speak, even before he/she could write. For this purpose scops were used to memorize tremendous works such as Beowulf. Eventually came the printing press that would revolutionize the world of literature, putting a book into the hands of more people than ever before. The word thus became more than a mere way to entertain and pass the time, but now the written word was a form of power. With the advance of technology came new ways to explore literature. In this digital age books are still going strong but video games prove to be an accessible and popular form to tell stories, satirize, and make philosophical conclusions on the state of the human condition. RPGs like the Final Fantasy series rely on novel worthy amounts of text, sometimes invoking invaluable, albeit cold, truths:

"My friend, do you fly away now?
To a world that abhors you and I?
All that awaits you is a somber morrow
No matter where the winds may blow."

Other times video games humorously offer up advice on life:

Zack: Yep... gotta change my plans! (walks over near Cloud) Hmmm... No matter what I do, I need some

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