This post from Bound By Gravity about Old Grandma Hardcore reminded me of an experience I once had.
I’m probably the only person in the world to have ever done a systems analysis of bowling alleys. In doing my research I visited big alleys, small alleys, simple alleys, complicated alleys, alleys all over the country. Overall I’ve probably visited a hundred or more bowling alleys.
Frequently for one reason or another I found myself waiting in the alley with time on my hands. Now, there were only so many things you could do when you’re in a bowling alley (this was in the days before the World Wide Web). You can bowl. That’s not a good choice if you’re likely to be interrupted. You can drink. That’s not a good choice if you want to maintain your health (and keep your wits about you). Or you can play arcade games.
I played a lot of arcade games.
Once when I was playing (I don’t remember which game it was) I found myself slowly being surrounded by a group of 10 to 12 year old boys. There must have been a half dozen of them all silently watching me. On this particular game I probably played for a half hour to an hour on a single quarter, my audience following me the whole time.
As I left the area one of the kids turned to me and said, “You’re pretty good…for a grown-up”. High praise. No doubt if it hadn’t been for my age I wouldn’t have attracted their attention. We’re all bound by our assumptions.
And whatever goes against those assumptions is bound to capture our interest. Then we have a choice. We can either deny it, or try to ignore it, or learn from it.
BTW, Doom opens today. Ebert panned it which should surprise no one. Sounds like Armchair Generalist is planning on seeing it (he links to several reviews).
