True tom, and this is another reason I'm so anxious to make people know that
more than just azabat exist.
The "computer is just for work" thing is actually an interesting, and rather
depressing, one.
I myself actually went through a similar notion when I first got my laptop
provided by my student grant to do my degree with. In my case it wasn't
based upon a moral idea, but on an assumption I had.
I'd obviously played console games for years, and while I knew pc games
existed, I assumed most were modern hyper graphical affairs which I myself
would find unplayable.
I'd only ever used my computer to essentially do word processing at school,
so the idea of playing even textual games was one that simply hadn't
occurred to me, in my brain computers and school work were sort of
absolutely associated with each other.
if I wanted to play a game, i needed a console.
it wasn't until I heard of the www.whitestick.co.uk's "games to play online"
page that I started thinking that I could actually have some fun with my
computer.
interestingly enough though, it was this that also got me playing around
with computers and with the net, and trying to work out how to do things,
and these are skills I've needed.
For instance, many online brouser games require use of complex page
navigation. When i read spinoza online, there were so many references,
footnotes and goodness knows what the page was cluttered as heck. If I
hadn't been used at that point to using all of Hal's read page commands on a
webpage, i could've been rather confused indeed!
There is currently a copy of my thesis saved on sendspace in case I had a
fire. however had I not played games, I'd have never heard about file
sharing and never had this idea to use it as a backup.
But nobody is going to sit there and practice ways in their spare time of
learning how to do their work better, and even if a person has training, the
training won't teach them to start experimenting and trying different things
out, nor will they be inclined to do so in their spare time.
If computers were just for work, why do operating systems come with
preinstalled games like hearts, solitare, pinball etc?
On a moral level, there are certainly cases of people I've heard of who
screw over the equipment system to try and get what they want out of it.
The r09 digital recorder I used to make podcasts and such was actually
provided by my student grant, and what I use it mostly for is to have people
read me gernal articals which I can then record.
Because however I knew I'd be using the recorder for fun, I found the price
of the olympus mono voice recorder which would've served exactly my needs
for my phd, but would've been no good in terms of making podcasts etc, got
my grant to pay that and paid the extra 70 quid or so for the r09 with it's
sterrio mikes myself.
So I do have sympathy for this position as it ultimately comes out of a
sense of fairness.
However, while I do agree it would be wrong to have a computer bought "just"
to play games on, so long as the state are not expected to pay more for your
recreation, why not?
does everyone in business delete all games from their operating system?
heck, I've regularly seen very professional business type people on trains
doing crosswords in the papers.
While I do agree the state has no financial obligation to let you play
games, once the computer is bought, the money is spent and the state's
obligation is pretty much over and done with.
the equipment is now yours to use for whatever, so long as the state isn't
paying more money. What you do with your computer outside work is only your
business, ---- you might as well ask all those people who sit on trains why
their not working and why they're doing crosswords in "work" time.
this is generally one of the largest differences I've noticed in the
atitudes of disabled people. Because a computer is provided for work and
training is focused that way, either there is a moral idea, or as in my case
just an assumption, tht you don't do anything else with it.
That's also why people fail to practice skills, sinse quite obviously you'll
learn to do, and practice something a good bit more if your doing it for fun
as well as work.
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
---
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