How Video Games are Good for the Brain

Emily Anthes' article entitled "How Video Games are Good for the Brain" is a great example of ethos. She quotes many who have studied, and gained a great knowledge about video games.

She begins by sharing that scientists are searching for the "potential benefits" of video games. These scientists have found that video games can "boost mental function, improving everything from vision to memory." Scientists is the most important word it this statement. This means that these tests were conducted by a credible source.

In the next paragraph, Anthes quotes Eric Kolpfer, director of MIT's Education Arcade. He states that "Video games are hard... People don’t like to play easy games, and games have figured out a way to encourage players to persist at solving challenging problems.’’ She continues by quoting John Gabrieli, a neuroscientist at MIT. Professors are some of the more credible source that can be used in articles, especially professors from prestigious universities, such as MIT.

Two paragraphs later, Anthes recounts a study done by Richard Haier, a pediatric neurologist and professor emeritus at the School of Medicine at the University of California at Irvine. He did a study on how tetris alters the brain. He found that after playing tetris for 3 months, one's brain became much more effecient in processing problems. Richard Haier is an extremely credible source, because he is a pediatric neurologist. This means that not only does he study the brain and nerves, and their functions, his main focus is how they function in adolescents. He is also an emeritus professor, which makes him even more credible.

Through the use of these sources, Anthes created an extensive support of her argument, how video games are good for the brain.