Steven Johnson is smarter than you...

but don't feel bad. He's smarter than me too.

I first came across his work after he was interviewed in an episode of Radiolab titled "Emergence" (also the title of his phenomenal book on the subject). Radiolab is a radio show from WNYC that delves in scientific, technical, or metaphysical issues in a way I've never, ever encountered. The team that puts it together (Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich) is the perfect combination - Abumrad is a sound engineer and audiophile, Krulwich is an award winning science journalist from ABC. I'm sure I'll blog about them more in the future...suffice it to say they're bad ass.

(listen to a stream of the Emergence episode or download it...you'll be hooked after 5 minutes)

I finished Steven Johnson's book "Everything Bad is Good For You" last month, and it's made for great conversation ever since. He approaches the 'common knowledge' that pop culture is making people stupid (especially TV and video games) and is rotting the brains of our kids.

He starts by taking on TV and engages the reader by suggesting a comparison of the TV shows of today (Lost and 24 are two good examples) to popular TV shows from a couple decades ago (Cheers, Murphy Brown). The sitcoms of yesterday had a predictable layout, a joke at the beginning, a plot that played out among a few key characters, a story arc that followed one story line, and a joke at the end that tied in to the opening scene. Today's shows, in comparison, don't follow just a few characters...they have multiple ongoing sub-plots involving dozens of characters engaged in deep social interactions. Each show ties in to the previous shows in specific ways that only have context in comparison to earlier shows. Even recent comedies (Seinfeld and Simpsons) can be enjoyed again and again, since they have subtle jokes and references that play out the more you repeatedly view the shows.

Even the trash TV of today - reality shows (Survivor, the Apprentice, the Pick Up Artist) should be compared to their equivalent from the recent past - game shows. Compare Survivor to Family Fued, and the added levels of complexity are plainly obvious. Earlier (and even current) game shows give you the rules up front, and have an obvious beginning, middle, and end...but reality shows often don't tell you the rules as the play out, and each successive show build on the previous one.

He starts addressing video games by explaining them to people who may not have played them - pointing that video games of today are not about who can push the buttons as quickly as possible or memorizing button combinations. Games like Pac Man and Asteroids are nothing like the games of today...but not just in terms of how realistic they look. Current games, like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto depend on the player to figure out what the rules are, how to interact with the environment, and how to proceed. It's a much more complicated proposition than simply shooting everything or eating all the power pellets.

Steven Johnson has a new book out this week, and though I haven't bought it yet don't get the wrong idea. The only reason is that I got his earlier book The Ghost Map as a Christmas gift, and I'd like to read that first. He has a blog on the interwebs as well...but don't let the fact that he's on CSPAN or in the New Yorker intimidate you. He's not one of those arrogant intellectuals who use complicated words in the name of precision (when, usually, it's just to show off all the research the author has done or education they've endured) - Johnson is a fantastic writer, and a model for the way nerdy people everywhere should be: pragmatic, approachable, and genuinely interested in the way the world works. Most importantly, he knows how to explain it to the rest of us.