Elon Musk has weighed in on the debate over video gaming and intelligence, saying people should either play video games or risk being “dumb”.
The billionaire made the remark on X while responding to research that found an association between regular video gaming and stronger performance on several cognitive tests.
Musk wrote, “Play video games or be dumb! Those are your only 2 choices”, in response to a post discussing the findings.
The research examined the relationship between video gaming, physical activity, cognitive performance and mental health. The findings showed that frequent gamers performed better on cognitive tests than non gamers.
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According to the researchers, people who spent more time playing video games showed better performance on measures including short term memory, reasoning, processing speed and overall cognitive ability. However, the study found no significant association between video gaming and the mental health measures assessed.
The findings also indicated that frequent gamers performed cognitively at a level similar to non gamers who were considerably younger, with the difference reported at about 13.7 years.
Brandspur Brand News reports that the research does not establish that video games directly make people smarter. The study identified an association between gaming and cognitive performance, but further research would be required to determine whether gaming itself causes improvements in cognitive ability.
The researchers also found a different relationship between physical activity and brain health. Participants who engaged in more physical activity showed better mental health measures, while physical activity was not significantly associated with the cognitive scores examined in the study.
For gamers, the findings provide scientific context to an activity often dismissed simply as a waste of time. However, the research presents a more measured conclusion than Musk’s remark, suggesting that video gaming is associated with certain aspects of cognitive performance rather than proving that playing games is necessary to maintain intelligence.
