In “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” by Steven Johnson, the subject of how TV shows can make one smarter is discussed. Johnson analyzes the complexity of TV shows of the past and present and what deems these TV shows complex. The author also discusses the improvement in complexity of TV shows over time and even how regular violence is in TV shows nowadays. While he mentions the controversy of violence in TV shows, another issue seems to be which kind of shows makes one smarter. Johnson believes that watching TV reaps cognitive benefits, even though he does not give the reader any research or proof to substantiate his belief that TV makes one smarter.
Throughout the article, Johnson’s main focus in this article is the complexity of TV shows as stated previously. The author repeatedly mentions the show 24 and how this TV show suggests “the culture is getting more cognitively demanding, not less” (Johnson 278). He continues to discuss his main focus by referring to the Sleeper Curve, which is an important tool to measure the complexity of a TV show based on “paying attention, making inferences, [and] track shifting social relationships” (Johnson 279). According to Johnson, the media does not give credit where credit is due. The media gives the watching of television a bad reputation because of the assumed cognitive drawbacks TV causes when in reality, the assumptions are invalid. Johnson later explains that even though there may be many negative messages in TV shows or video games, it is not the correct way to evaluate. That is why the Sleeper Curve is important. Johnson later explains the increased demand of complexity in TV shows as TV shows have become more and more complex over the years. Johnson explains the complexity of TV shows by discussing multiple threading, linear threading and flashing arrows. Johnson believes multiple threading, the overlap of plotlines, is the most important because it forces the mind to work...