Also in the Civ3 Thread - A Confession

[Richard III]

From Wired, an amusing confession from one of my favorite modern economists, the liberal (but free market defending) J. Bradford DeLong. He starts off an article on why computers impede productivity this way...



quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the spring of 1994, I wiped the game Civilization off my office computer. I wiped it off my home PC. I wiped it off my laptop. I threw away the original disks on which it had come. It was clear to me that I had a choice: I could either have Civilization on my computers, or I could be a deputy assistant secretary of the US Treasury. I could not do both. It wasn't that my boss ordered me to - she herself played a mean game of computer solitaire. In this, I was the boss, and I had decided that with Civilization on DeLong's hard disk, DeLong's productivity would be unacceptably low.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[stormerne]

From the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Arthur Dent: "Right. Where are we going?"
Marvin, the paranoid android: "How should I know? It's your universe. You go where you like."

What DeLong said is quite true. We are all the masters of our lives in this way. We can choose to achieve or not achieve. That's why I threw my TV away 7 years ago.

 

[thestonesfan]

I too have come to this unappealing realization. Which is why I have long considered having my boss disable my internet access at work. I haven't brought myself to do it though. I'd miss you all too much!