Gaming blogs like this are usually delighted to pass along whatever "games are actually good for you!" stories we can find, such as this tidbit about using Tetris to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, found on Slashdot. I'd have rather read that about Bejeweled Twist, but I'll take what I can get. We only get so much mileage out of running around calling games art, so we can take up some of the slack by trumpeting its social, medical, psychological, and cerebral value. Fair enough. I hate typing /played into an MMO, too.

The Escapist has published a great article by an anonymous doctor (not pictured, but let me tell you that I don't recommend typing "trauma center" into Google Image Search). The author partly intends to debunk the perceived link between videogaming and surgical skill:

Pitt researchers found a few years ago when they chose Top Spin, Project Gotham Racing 2 and Amped 2 to assess students' skills, that while performance in the games seemed to correlate with performance on the laparoscopic simulator, actually practicing with the games didn't improve performance at all. This suggests that maybe people who are good at games just happen to be good at laparoscopy ... err ... simulators.

But the doctor also points out that it's really too soon to explore the link between people raised on videogaming and surgical skill:

Given that college freshmen who played the PlayStation upon its introduction in 1995 graduated from medical school in 2003 at the earliest, there isn't yet a cohort of practicing surgeons who have put in significant time with a gamepad (given the five-year duration of a general surgery residency) to qualify as a "videogame surgeon" generation. (High school freshmen who got a PlayStation in 1995 are in their second year of residency this year.)

But the real money quote -- and I apologize for essentially spoiling the article, which is still worth a read -- is that trying to connect videogaming with surgical skills is beside the point:

The ability to completely disconnect from all the awful things that may have happened in the hospital, from all the emotional energy expended in patient care, to instead walk around a post-apocalyptic wasteland with a dog companion, is one of my most jealously guarded pleasures. I don't care if it makes me a better surgeon; I am just glad it keeps me sane. The "better surgeon" part I can work on.

Also, it's worth noting this is probably the only videogame-related article you will ever read that contains the phrase "resect your colon".