[_Schizotypy]

The ability to manipulate objects is great to foster understanding of our world and development of spacial visualization. Apparently there are some people who don't understand how to properly put an air filter cover back on in their car because they don't understand it just needed to be rotated 90 degrees, which is honestly incredibly sad. The benefits come from brain development and understanding how things work together which, if you want to think about it in monetary terms, helps in any industry. Everything is an interacting system.

[europsucks]

I know a lot of people who can't use a computer or a smartphone, which is also very sad. They never learned to explore and experiment with the user interface. If you explain something to them, they write down every step. When the next software update changes a little thing, they are lost again. That's very similar to your "just turn it by 90°" example.

Do you have elderly parents you support with their computers? Then maybe you know what I am talking about.

I am not saying kids shouldn't play with bricks. The whole premise of the article seems silly. Nobody claims kids should play with computers instead of bricks.

As for becoming computer savvy, I've seen kids pick up quite a lot from playing with computers. They quickly figure out how to find and launch the games they like, for example. And they also experiment, for example rearranging the UI. Then there is Minecraft.