I have done little to shield my children from the joy of computers; in fact, I’ve done quite the opposite.  This image of my then not-quite-two-year-old son was taken 11 years ago.  We had set up a computer with educational software intended for our two older children.  To our surprise, this toddler had (through his own initiative) become quite adept at mousing and operating “Reader Rabbit”.  One day, after what seemed like an unusually quiet 15 minutes, we checked on him and found him crashed, having abruptly succumbed to computer-induced exhaustion.

 

In recent years, I’ve experience something similar on a few occasions.  Especially while collaborating deep in the night with colleagues on the other side of the planet, I’ve found myself exhausted with my hand on the mouse and my eyes closed.  Perhaps the most interesting part of the experience is the “creative” code I’ve written in those few minutes of semi-conscious twilight before finally closing my eyes.  It kind of makes me wonder if there was something equally creative in his twilight interactions with Reader Rabbit.  He has, at least, become a very strong and avid reader (and a Mac addict).