Re: virus: Matrix...and teletubbies

Tim Rhodes (proftim@speakeasy.org)
Tue, 6 Apr 1999 14:26:19 -0700

The noted Dr Sebby wrote:

>....If repetitive 'uh-oh's' and 'ooh-la's' constitute 'good programming'
>for children(1yr olds or not) then why bother educating them when they
>get older?

You might want to familarize yourself with the voluminous data on developmental stages in early childhood learning. 1-3 year olds learn in much different ways than, 5-8 year-olds or, say... a 12 year-old with a fake lightsaber. A program aimed at the way a 2 year-old learns is going to be vertually insufferable for an adult to watch (tried sitting through a whole episode of Mister Rogers, lately?). If you liked the Teletubbies (and you're not stoned) it would mean either they were missing their target age group or you were a very, very "challenged" individual.

It just wasn't made for your brain.

> The one 'teletubbie' episode i had the chance to see seemed like an
>experiment in fostering infant stress/frustration....basically, there
>was this one teletubbie...lets call him dipsy for sake of
>argument...anyway, he wanted to do something fun, a game or something -
>it doesnt matter...but every time he started in on his 'fun project'
>some computer 10ft away would indicate a problem requiring resolution
>ASAP...so he would relunctantly abandon his 'fun project' and
>slooooowwwwly plod over to said computer, hit a few buttons and be
>rewarded with a beep of approval indicating that everything was ok
>now....he would then, with great impatience, sloooooowwwwly trundle back
>to his 'fun project' and attempt to begin this 'fun' activity....but
>every time he would commence doing this 'fun' thing, the computer would
>have a problem again, and he would have to go back and sort it out,
>etc.......Well, it went on repeating this annoying and frustrating
>process about 10 times - all the way through the program...in fact he
>never did succeed in permanently resolving the computer's problems...the
>show ended with everyone completely irritated, frustrated and
>dissatasfied

Sounds like a good life lesson for the little future workers of the world to grasp, no? Much more effective than going to work with Mommy or Daddy for a day, I suspect too.

-Prof. Tim