Simplexity

[carl]

Some of the result of this has been seen already. Air France 447 crashed because the 30 something pilot in the right seat didn't know how to fly an airplane. That was combined with the fact that the Airbus cockpit was set up so he could make control inputs without the other pilot knowing about it. The right seat pilot must have been a master of the computer and computerized systems that control an Airbus or he wouldn't have gotten his job. But he couldn't fly. He didn't know or remember the most basic relationship between control input, lift and aircraft control. And it wasn't helped by the way current airline training is conducted. A similar thing happened with the airplane that died in Buffalo.

The industry is just beginning to recognize this and is, strange as it may seem to those outside the business, starting to talk about making sure pilots know how to fly airplanes in addition to running flight management systems.

In a military sense I don't know how this will work out, not good I suspect. We may already be seeing it in Afghanistan in that we just can't seem to, no matter what, deploy foot infantry that can match the mobility of the Taliban. We used to be able to do that.

I have a question for you guys with children related to this and Kowalskil's question. Do your children realize that they, themselves with their own little hands, can make things if they put their minds to it, physical things I mean?

[rgregory]

As to whether they want to make things or not I believe that the answer is no.
As with my grandsons; I was working on a model and they watched for a few minutes but it was not interesting enough and they left to play with their gaming systems. They have no patience for word puzzles or even jigsaw puzzles.

I have wondered if children today are getting their brains rewired through watching video games and the types of show they watch on tv. the tv shows are fast cut (almost like animated music videos) and perhaps they are losing the abiltiy to focus on something for a length of time.

In my antedeluvian youth; the tv shows I was allowed to watch were shows like Lassie, Fury, the Lone Ranger and similar shows. Even though not the best shows even then; the story was simple and easy to follow and led to a conclusion; i.e. Lassie finds the baby ducks mother; but you would pay attention.

A friend of mine is getting her advanced degree in childhood education and she said you would not believe how hard it is to get their attention and hold it.