Similar thoughts occurred to me yesterday as I watched my son, his son and
my great grandchildren playing with some of my old erector sets in a
learn-teach mode for several hours.

Pete Stanaitis
---------------

P.S. No one was killed during a video game for many hours and the little
ones learned "lefty loosy, righty tighty" quite well.



As the industrial areas turned into shopping malls I asked people what
they thought of it, being careful not to preload my question with an
expected response. I was surprised by how much bitter and snobbish
resentment toward manufacturing I heard. In general the well-educated
people I asked had no idea that making things generates value, but a
service economy only redistributes and dilutes it. I learned that in jr
high civics class with the westward expansion of the railroads as the
example of primary and secondary jobs. IIRC they planned new towns based
on one railroad job supporting 8-11 people, the worker's family plus one
other.

Perhaps high schools should mention the concept of entropy as it applies
to economic activity, or just teach the ability to distinguish cause from
effect. We had critical thinking drummed into our little heads back in the
50's and 60's but I don't see much evidence of it now on the Net.
jsw