On Thu, 11 Apr 2002, Goss, Bill went:

> However, in literature and story telling the images were generally
> self-generated.  In visual media someone else provides the image.

That's a good basis for hypothesizing that there might be something
especially influential about visual media, and perhaps something
unprecedentedly influential about TV, movies, and video games.  What I
keep saying is that the hypothesis should be tested.

And on Thu, 11 Apr 2002, [EMAIL PROTECTED] went:

> For yet another line of research pointing to the same types of conclusions
> as the laboratory and correlational studies that David refers to check out
> T.M. Williams (Ed.)The impact of television: A natural experiment involving
> three towns, NY: Academic. Joy,et al found increased levels of aggression
> after television was introduced into a remote town.

That sounds interesting and possibly persuasive; I'll look for it.

> Many lines of evidence converge in this area.  Video games not only
> show violence, but they also encourage rehearsal and reward violent
> acts.  Remember, the kids at Columbine were taking people out with
> one shot.

Now, this is exactly the sort of inferential leap I keep complaining
about...

> There is a great episode of the Simpsons that deals with this issue.

Yes!  The episode was called "Itchy and Scratchy and Marge" (synposis
at http://www.snpp.com/episodes/7F09.html), and it ends with Marge's
admission that her protest against TV violence had had serious
unintended consequences involving indiscriminate censorship: "I guess
one person *can* make a difference," she says, "but most of the time,
they probably *shouldn't*."

--David Epstein
  [EMAIL PROTECTED]


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