The zeitgeist once again cannot make up its mind (can it ever?). On one hand, we've got Reuters telling us that gaming can help children learn. David Williamson Shaffer, author of How Computer Games Help Children Learn, advocates video games as an educational tool and says:

...Young people in the United States today are being prepared for standardized jobs in a world that will, very soon, punish those who can't innovate. We simply can't 'skill and drill' our way to innovation.

Got that, Joe Public? So video games are good. They can help. But, wait! Over at MSNBC, we've got University of Calgary professor Piers Steel spouting that video games are bad for society:

That stupid game Minesweeper — that probably has cost billions of dollars for the whole society. It's easier to procrastinate now than ever before... We have so many more temptations. It's never been harder to be self-disciplined in all of history than it is now.

Confused, we are. Brian Ashcraft

Games Make Professionals [Reuters]
Games Make Procrastinators [MSNBC, Thanks Jay!]