There's been a kind of cultural debate about the impact video games are having on our culture. Do they waste time, cultivate violent outlooks and promote obesity, or do they provide something positive to those who play them? Steven Johnson argues eloquently that video games are probably actually making us smarter in "Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter"

Not surprisingly, the creator of one of the most popular games goes even farther in Wired 14.04: Dream Machines. Sims creator Will Wright thinks the video game-playing generation different from those who've come before, and their impact will be different:

In an era of structured education and standardized testing, this generational difference might not yet be evident. But the gamers' mindset - the fact that they are learning in a totally new way - means they'll treat the world as a place for creation, not consumption. This is the true impact videogames will have on our culture.

And he thinks it's actually scientific to play, in the broadest sense of that term:

The last thing they do is read the manual. Instead, they pick up the controller and start mashing buttons to see what happens. This isn't a random process; it's the essence of the scientific method. Through trial and error, players build a model of the underlying game based on empirical evidence collected through play. As the players refine this model, they begin to master the game world. It's a rapid cycle of hypothesis, experiment, and analysis. And it's a fundamentally different take on problem-solving than the linear, read-the-manual-first approach of their parents.

The debate about the value of playing video games will no doubt continue. But guys like Johnson and Wright make a compelling case on the plus side.