Everything Bad is Good for You (Book)

Post date: Sep 29, 2013 2:39:10 PM

Everything Bad is Good for You (Book)

I don't read a ton of books. I keep very busy with constantly creating. For me to really get into a book it has to offer unique ideas that I haven't seen elsewhere. This one, perhaps more than any other, does just that. While not specifically a book for teachers it has a ton to say about education in the modern world.

The premise of the book is that all those things that we are told are make us all stupider as a culture (particularly movies, television and video games) are, in fact, incredibly complex media that are making us all much, much smarter.

My favorite idea in the book comes very early on. The author asks the reader to imagine a hobby where the participant entered a fantasy world completely devoid of any social interaction. This hobby takes hours and allows for no creativity or direct interaction with the medium.

What are you imagining? A book, right?

Of course nobody describes books in such a way so why do we do so with other media? This book shows that any medium isn't automatically bad but can be used to increase our intelligence. It's easy to read and quite entertaining (especially if you are a pop culture nut like me) and gets my highest recommendation.