My 7 year old granddaughter was playing Minecraft on her IPad. I guess you aren’t C00L if you’re a kid and don’t have an IPad. Hers was acquired second hand from her mom.
Anyway she was smashing and building all types of blocky things and telling me about all kinds of monsters that inhabit the software program. She was spending summer days with us as her parents worked, the game program helped keep her busy. I thought it was a kids game.
I had just loaded a new version of Ubuntu on my “Sandbox” computer and I noticed a free version of Minecraft was enabled on the new install. So I started it and invited my granddaughter to see what I had on my computer. She was of course thrilled and took over my keyboard.
It is amazing what a seven year old girl knows about operating a computer and mouse. She was using touch screen on the IPad, but the mouse on my computer was not even a challenge to her. Nothing Poppa (me) could teach her…
We had an enjoyable hour or so of her showing what Minecraft was all about. So I was hooked to learn more so I could play along with her. That evening I purchased the full version and got it operational on my office computer.
A month later now and she has started school again, so I have been playing it all by myself having been qualified by an expert. I developed very complex buildings and actually had 6 “worlds” in which to explore. Since I am retired, I was spending many hours playing fantasy world in the lands of Minecraft. Way too many hours.
I had a long talk with myself that school had started and I didn’t have my granddaughter to entertain and that I was no longer doing anything constructive with my time. She prefers to do her own thing rather than explore (and break) my creations. I was just playing and putting off shop projects I wanted to work on. Minecraft is truly just a non-productive computer game. Entertainment value only.
So I have pulled the plug. All six of my Minecraft world creations are forever gone. The start icon is removed from my task bar. I am a normal grandpa again. I have returned to my favorite Vectric Aspire and am designing and making carvings again. Wow! What happened to me? Ha. Only temporary but it was wonderful playing with my grand daughter on a somewhat intellectual level.
I’ll do it again the next time she visits for a long spell and will just love starting all over. Grandkids grow up fast. The kid in me got hooked. But it was definitely worth the fling. So maybe it wasn’t a curse?
Not all computer games are a waste of time sometimes time out from normal life is a good stress releif and of course it does exercise the brain, Sometimes this can be advantageous.
Who after all in their daytime job has not at some stage been stuck on a problem so immersed in trying to find a solution they cannot see the obvious until somebody walks in and says why not do this or try that and the lightbulb goes on,At times like that sometimes it is good to just go and do something totally out of left field and when you return the solution to the problem is clear and you cannot understand why you did not see it at first.
In cases like that something like minecraft can be a good circuit breaker, There are many and varied forms of what is commonly known as “Writers Block” and all true craftspeople suffer it at some point.
So what better excuse than some quality time with your family to explore some of the addictive games designed one might surmise for exactly that reason they are so immersive time and reality drift away and stress clogging up the brain is cleansed,Enjoy the timeout and god bless your grand daughter for allowing you to experience some small part of the world experience that will shape her future and train her brain to solve problems.
I have always thought traditional schooling trains everyone to think the same and that is not the way to solve the world problems, Thinking outside the square can be either a blessing or a curse as you well know.
Train our youth how to educate themselves and how to sort the wheat from the chaff and nothing life throws at them will be an issue nor any number of different work choices over the years.
A few wiser people are starting to realise that with the rapid changes in technology many people these days will see something close to 15 to 20 Job changes in their lifetime and each different job will allow a different approach to problem solving, Experience in different fields will see more lateral solutions and in that the world will improve more rapidly as long as we do not allow others to hem us in too much.
Time is the one thing too precious to waste but not all that seems wasteful is exactly what we first perceive, Remember we never know what the next day will bring so live and enjoy each day for what it is for some it may be their last so have no regrets.
Finally I love the site you have put together as with all you have expounded on and the others who loosley are associated we all gain, Thanks again for your efforts and thoughtfulness in making this available for all to share and enjoy.
Thank you Stephen. I am pleased you saw through my back door approach. The game and time spent and future time spent is well worth the experience with my granddaughter. I wouldn’t change a moment of it.
Regards, Dan Kautz