kurt@fluke.UUCP (07/07/83)
Sure. Computer Mania is just like any other obsession. There have always been compulsive artists and composers, mad tinkerers and chemists, single-minded generals and politicians, and monomaniacs of all persuasions. As computers grow to be a part of everybody's lives, there will be people who are consumed by them. Note that if computers weren't available, some other hobby or persuit would seduce most of these people with the same result. Note the similarity between spending late nights at the terminal and late nights at the piano, easel, drafting table, etc. The alienation and withdrawl is caused by the late nights, not the computer. Computer Mania is just the latest cute observation of a common phenomenon. It's just like all the cute names for little strain injuries (video game wrist, typewriter fingers, tennis elbow) that happen to people who do repetitive activities for very long periods with the same muscles. It's like trying to differentiate all the kinds of flu (Hong Cong flu, Swine flu, New Zealand B flu). It is just a particular manifestation of an aspect of human psychology. Remember the "Are You A Hacker?" discussion from a year ago? This is the same thing all over again, although I thought the previous discussion was interesting enough to repeat. Real Programmers don't make up Real Programmer jokes; it takes time away from the machine. Kurt Guntheroth