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Not really my style to respond / talk to myself on the internet. I mostly selfishly keep that ... perk ... of my 'carnival hall of mirrors'-esque mind to myself (unless I'm muttering more audibly to keep 'the crazies' away at the bus stop ... you know, the real ones, not like me ...). But... Realized I need to temper what I wrote about the 'roast' aspect of the "age check". Specifically, I think there IS a (deeper) wisdom to the setup, and a more nuanced satire of "age restrictions". What I will offer here is more the conclusion I drew years ago - drowned out temporarily by not having thought about the game in years and by the strength of the relived 'glee' at the seeming "hurling of the hammer into the 'Big Brother'" face* that I quickly realized the system could be taken to represent. While labeled something like "age check" - the simple-minded approach, the question-based system IS more what you'd ~rationally want: a maturity check (perhaps not quite the best word, but, will do for now). I.e., what's the point in restricting access to the content in that game if someone is already at a point where they know and/or can dig up the kinds of information queried for in those questions? I always love the example of Benjamin Franklin, the dude became an apprentice printer at 12, began writing letters that were published under a pseudonym in the guise of a middle-aged widow around the age of 15 or 16, began influencing the politics of the era in significant ways around that same age, fled his apprenticeship and lived as a fugitive for a bit when 17 ... founded a successful newspaper at 23, etc. The world was different, and some of that was more the usual than it would be today. But, at the same time, Franklin himself WAS unusual - particularly 'fast', intelligent, clever ... and, that is the point. People both on average AND as individuals do not conform to such 'simple boxes'. Age is a practical, reasonable, and simple system - in some sense, exactly the right system. About the only reasonable system (as a parameter for sale / no sale, basically). And yet, it's also obviously rubbish. The 'question system' IS almost certainly better - more reasonable / accurate in certain ways (aside from the additional limitation / potential jest in multiple choice ... so someone who is 5 is getting in at least some of the time, which also doesn't seem unreasonable to some degree) - and also great parody of perhaps the entire concept and us more generally (e.g., the literally MOST COUNTERPRODUCTIVE thing you can do - try to hide information about a BASIC BIOLOGICAL DRIVE that has an extremely serious side). * If unfamiliar, look up Apple 1984 commercial or similar (terms) |