The Kinect and How it's Helping the World

The thing that I am most interested in is probably the Kinect. I mean, sure, it's just another outlet for nerds to geek about and play when you get drunk, but I like to think that this new technology that can read your movements and pick up on things going on in your environment is a huge leap forward in technology. Think about it. You stand in front of your T.V. (and Kinect by proxy... if it's anywhere else, you're doing it wrong...) you start up, hold your arm out so that you can be discovered by the sensor and then with out any sort of control or remote you can navigate your dashboard to get to the game you want to play or get to Netflix or what have you.


This. is. awesome. Bar none.


Want to know why this is awesome? Gamer. Yes, the movie with Gerard Butler. See, I would like to experience technology in the way they presented it in the movie. Granted, I'd rather not be controlling another human being (that's be weird) but, I would like to be able to sit on my bed and have my room be my computer, my T.V. and my gaming console.


I'd never leave my room.


Can you imagine what that would to to the first person shooter (FPS)? It would be like you were actually there! I think it would make reaction times better, it would help with training in various fields and it would help cure the boredom of many a person all over the world. Studies have shown that people who work with a certain game extensively have a tendency to become show more cognitive and be more content overall. As shown in the "Mario math with millennials: The impact of playing the Nintendo DS on student achievement" study, children were more likely to have better attitudes towards their teachers and lessons after having played "Mario Math." Can you imagine that? 

The "Video-game training and naïve reasoning about object motion" study showed that people were able to learn how to learn about trajectory with a video game. Granted, they needed a tutorial but everyone needs a tutorial. They don't just throw you into a game or a job without some sort of introduction, am I right? 

And with better video gaming technology means better movie graphics, I'm just saying...

Cites

Masson, M. E. J., Bub, D. N., & Lalonde, C. E. (2011). Video-game training and naïve reasoning about object motion.Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(1), 166-166-173. doi:10.1002/acp.1658

Gelman, A. Mario math with millennials: The impact of playing the nintendo DS on student achievement. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/857128224?accountid=7122