Everything Bad is Good for You

Besides taking up the defense of an entity, popular culture, which most people have condemned, Steven Johnson's latest book is unorthodox in that it is a pleasure to read. Johnson draws from multiple and varied sources to make an erudite, scientific argument as to why pop culture is not only not rotting our brains, but is actually benefiting us. Drawing from economics, neuroscience, and pop culture offerings ranging from Finding Nemo to 24 to Zelda, Johnson logically and persuasively argues his case about the benefits of media. And his case is that, in the last fifty years or so, there has been a notable increase in the complexity of our media offerings-as he calls it, the Sleeper Curve. From Pac-man to Grand Theft Auto, or the Dukes of Hazzard to The Sopranos, he demonstrates how the level of complexity in programming, gaming, film, and now, the Internet, has risen and is still rising, demanding greater attention and effort on the part of the viewer, resulting in a sort of cognitive workout for the brain.

Johnson is not only persuasive-he is entertaining. The pages fly by as he presents his case with humor and wit. Though the book probably falls under the label of science, that doesn't prevent it from being a pleasure to read. It is written in a prose so accessible that I would recommend it to anyone with even a passing familiarity with today's pop culture.