Everything Bad Is Good for You by Steven Johnson

Although this title caught me immediately as a huge fan of anything counter to status quo and the institutionalization of marginalizing individuality. As a dedicated chaos engine, I thrill in the moments when the image of us having our professional, romantic, spiritual, philosophical, social, and medical lives completely under control falls flat on its ass. Sorry, but I love that.

This book provides an against the current view of the impact of the pop culture domains of video games, television shows, and movies and argues that they make us smarter. The dynamics of this effect are driven by the complexity of the plots and worlds created in these mediums, movies the least and video games the most.

In short, always read books, but add TV shows like 24, games like GTA and the Sims to increase your IQ by a point each year. Never underestimate collateral learning and refuse to be shamed for being into these things.

I see a PS3 in my future.

Amazon.com: Books: Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter