Both articles "Watching TV Makes You Smarter" and "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box" raise fair points about television viewing and how we think about the shows that air, but both articles have some problems. "Watching TV Makes You Smarter" is unnecessarily long, the point of having more complex plot lines leading to more intelligent thinking is established early on, the amount of examples seems unnecessary. "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box" is shorter but to me, seemed somewhat unclear in it's message.
In my opinion selective television viewing can make you smarter. Shows with intricate plot lines like Law and Order are a great example of intelligent television, unfortunately for every Law and Order there is a dumbed down show like CSI: Miami. Law and Order presents a plot line and does not insult the viewer by explaining each thing. CSI: Miami will explain every single thing going on even when it is obvious. That isn't to say that CSI: Miami isn't entertaining, but it certainly won't work your brain.
TV as a whole will not make you smarter, it is fair to say that a large percent of the media aired on TV is commercials and reality shows. The amount of shows aimed at the lowest common denominator is huge.
I think that is a fair evaluation of TV in general. There are some good shows that engage your brain but for the most put TV is for mind numbing entertainment that is easy to create and gets an immediate response. The authors of both articles had good points but you still cannot escape all of the cheesy entertaining shows on the air.
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