Comparison: Drexel Life and Grand Theft Auto - They Both Make Us Smarter

After reading through lots of these posts in response to our week two topic, I feel that lots of students blew right by one of the most obvious parallels (the most obvious for me, at any rate) between Everything Bad is Good For You and Drexel life: the fact that the students are utilizing "blogs" to complete courses for grades. Everything Bad stated that Americans were not writing and reading, as in communicating through written word, in the same way that they used to, meaning through the use of books and newspapers, etc. But they are still writing and reading on the internet through MySpace and blogs. The fact that Drexel is using the internet world to appeal to students for their own grades is a huge step in recognizing the fact that students are not becoming dumber, and an even bigger step in promoting the use of new technologies to actually make us smarter. The hybrid course is an excellent example of how Johnson really is correct in his hypotheses of our population using our new technologies to enhance our minds.

An event I feel has made me "smarter" in the same sense that Johnson meant in his analysis of video games (take Grand Theft Auto, for example) is this past Saturday night. Just like in a video game, there was a main goal that was trying to be reached: we needed to get to a party in Center City from 33rd and Race St. After exploring our options, we decided to have a friend pick us up at 9 to eventually get to a party around 10-11 at night. We could have walked it, but that would have taken an hour, and it was already getting dark by 7:00. And since we didn't know how to use the subway, Brian and his car seemed like a much better option. This was the best option as it turned out, because from the subway we would have needed to walk through a strange part of town and through a typically dangerous neighborhood. By 9:45 we had left Brian's house and were heading toward the presumed party, but could not find the right house. Eventually, after 25 minutes of calling and looking around for some sound in an extremely sketchy part of the city, we did find the right address. This was even before the party had even begun, but I had already learned some crucial things that have definitely made me smarter. For one, I put the city of Philadelphia into perspective. Not being from here, I only have had the chance to explore University City, and not the other areas of the 8th largest city in the country. Now, I learned of a new location in relation to my own dorm at Drexel and added to my mental map of the city. As Johnson pointed out in his book while analyzing GTA, this mental mapping is a skill that is drawn from situations we experience, as well as from simulated experiences, like those found in GTA or Zelda. Aside from the mental-mapping skill that was enhanced by our first step on our UArts party journey, we learned that before we leave to go anywehre, whether it's to a party or the grocery store, to make sure the address was correct. In the suburbs of New Jersey where I grew up, even if the address was off by a few house numbers, one was never too far from their eventual goal. In the city, however, 2119 Ellsworth is VERY different from 3119 Ellsworth. I also learned a few little bits of important information before the party even started, like that it's ok to bring a bag out to someone's house, but usually a burden to bring it to an actual party, and that sneakers are a good idea by South St and the surrounding area because the pavement is being redone. This was only the first part of the night, before anything of substance even occurred, and yet I had already learned some crucial information for surviving in the city. It made me smarter, and now, if I had to repeat Saturday night, I would know the right decisions to make to make the most of our time and resources. Something tells me I will encounter at least a few more nights similar to this past Saturday and now I will know to bring sneakers and leave my bag behind. I won't go into any farther detail about that night, but I know I learned so much that night that can be applied to my life moving forward.