Archive for Technology
The Beauty of Competition
Posted by: | CommentsAfter waking up this morning, I followed my normal routine during the NBA playoffs: I gave kisses to Erin and the kids and then checked out NBA.com.
After arriving at my appointed Internet destination, I saw that the Lakers were still playing the Jazz. There was about 8 minutes left to go in the fourth quarter, I believe. So I turned on my Slingplayer (which is how I watch live TV over here in Turkey) in order to check out the game. For I really enjoy watching the NBA playoffs live. Recorded I am just not into.
So there I am, all excited to watch a solid fourth quarter battle between one of the best teams in the league and another fighting to keep its season alive. And what happens, but my Internet slows to a crawl, even to the point where my 5 and 3 year old take note and declare: “Our Internet is not working Dad?” Yea, I know, thanks for rubbing it in.
Instinctively my thoughts drift to the beauty of competition, not, however, in the basketball area, but in the business world. For you see, where I am right now there is more or less one company to whom you can turn to get half-decent Internet. And that company only recently sold half its shares to a private group of individuals. Before that time it was owned entirely by the government. So it more or less has a monopoly. Yes, there are a few small companies trying to get in, but they are not worth turning to as of yet (plus, they have to use all the big company’s equipment).
For what I am paying here, I could be enjoying some sweet FIOS back in the States. But why? It’s because there is ample competition to drive prices down and quality up. Entry into the telecommunications market isn’t very difficult in the States. There is money to be made and anyone who is willing and able can more or less get in, so more people get in and everyone is better for it. We enjoy lover prices and higher quality. But not so here and in much of the world.
I say all of this not to complain (though I am sure there is some of that in me), but to remind us all how great it is to have people competing for our business. Sure, I get a little tired of the advertisements and keeping track of the latest and greatest offers known to man, but in the end, it is a whole lot better than paying 60 a month for Internet that goes in and out and sometimes slows to a crawl. Free competition is a good thing, so let’s give thanks for it.
In all fairness, I must say that after resetting my Modem, the speed did pick up a bit and I was able to enjoy the end of the game. But my point still stands, because the service still isn’t worth writing about (unless you have to say what I have said here).
The simplest and most insightful book I have read on Economics is Thomas Sowell’s Basic Economics. It’s a thick one, but if you take it little by little, it is well worth the read.
Game Addiction
Posted by: | CommentsHere is the title of an article in the Washington Post today: “Study Finds Some Youths ‘Addicted’ to Video Games”
Many thoughts came to mind while reading this article, but I will limit myself to sharing two:
1) Is this really news?
I say this not because I dispute the findings, but because I thought everyone already knew this. Neither of my parents have Ph.Ds, but when they saw my brother and I lock ourselves in the bathroom for a few hours in order to beat Super Mario on our Gameboy, they made their own study and put it in a place where we couldn’t find it (thankfully, we had already beat the game by then, but our legs were numb from sitting so long.).
They were no psychiatrists, but they instinctively knew a problem when they saw it. And I, for one, am thankful that they did. It saddens me to think that a headline such as the one quoted above will be news to many, particularly parents who should be unlocking the bathroom door and putting the video games away (for the good of their own little addicts). Maybe the fact that this is a headline helps to explain why there is such a problem in the first place. Not enough parents have thought through the issue themselves.
2) In order to come to a consensus about the problem, it is vital to agree upon the definition of ‘addiction.’
My dictionary says an addiction is 1- dependency and 2- excessive devotion to. But the dictionary definition is not enough, because inevitably, people will disagree what such dependency or excessive devotion looks like. Or to what degree it really becomes a problem.
You notice this even in the article itself. They had to establish their own criteria for addiction in order to draw their conclusions. The kids interviewed had to have a certain number of factors in order to be classified as an addict. The problem with this, however, is that they are only dealing with addiction at a certain stage of development. Addiction to a certain degree. But addicts come in all shapes and sizes. And all our various addictions and habits have various negative effects (small and large).
Dependency upon eating a cookie after a meal is not equal to dependency upon cocaine, but the problem is the same at root. To degree, no; but in nature, yes. So any study that deals with addiction to video games needs to keep such a reality in mind. Parents especially should pay attention to this fact, because unless they understand what addiction really is, they cannot adequately help their children fight against it. And whether we realize it or not, it is a battle we all need to face.
One final note: the best study of Addictions I know of is Ed Welch’s Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave.
