Why are our kids smarter? Could it be due to proliferation of remote controls?

I am one of those guys who could not bring himself up to buying an expensive remote to aggregate all the remote controls he has around the house.  Just counted, 7 of those remotes (Plasma TV, DVR, cable box, DVD player, receiver, CD player) are used on a daily basis and majority of them are required even to accomplish a basic objective like watching a DVD.  

Hindsight, this was a blessing in disguise and $200 wisely not spent for another gadget.

My 4-year-old daughter has already figured out how to navigate through complex inputs and outputs to watch her favorite on demand shows, or preview our selected DVR recordings, or dance to her favorite tunes on the CD player.  The surprising thing is that she had no coaching (as I am opposed to her watching TV for more than 1/2 hr a day) as she pursued her dreams of independence for leveraging all the entertainment technologies around the house.  What makes this even more interesting is that she figured this whole complexity out before she turned 3 1/2 and not being able to read a word on her own.  Now she can easily switch the inputs into the plasma TV from HDMI to Component 1 or AV1 or change the receiver input from Video 1 to CD or AUX, or change the cable remote functionality from TV to Cable or vice versa. 

I am not trying to imply that my daughter is a genius - most her friends at her school are the same way.  In contrast to my daughter, my mother - who carries similar genes to my daughter, at least a quarter of the way and a rocket scientist in her own field of biochemistry - still does not get the idea that to switch from the DVD player to the DVR, she needs to change the video input on the Plasma from Component 1 to HDMI input.  For what I have observed, the only real difference is that my mother was born into a world with no remotes.

Now, I am a total believer that this added complexity increases the IQ levels of the new generation, and I will continue to support my daughter’s education by buying new gadgets that make life increasingly tough for basic tasks (e.g., PC) and refusing to buy ones that simplify life (Apple).

I will likely postpone my plans to get rid of everything non-Apple around the house as everything works without requiring much brainpower.  Maybe for my daughter’s benefit, I should ask her to do the next round of restoring the system on my PC which is required every couple of months so that the machine functions. 

Please, Steve Jobs - or other geniuses at Apple -, I beg you to not make life easier for us with your cool and intuitive gadgets, otherwise we will all be putting at risk the new generations' smarts.

Hasan Yardimci

Why would Chicago grow on anyone given such harsh winters?

For an outsider who has visited Chicago during below zero temperatures and muddy streets with left over snow - a high possibility if the outsider visits the city during winter - the city does not have much appeal especially after the salt on the streets that is intended to keep cars from skipping have ruined an expensive pair of shoes put on to impress the insiders during a night out in the city. It is very unfortunate that a large majority of visitors to Chicago have only seen this face of Chicago which may have created a general perception that Chicago is Gotham city - interestingly for the never-visited Chicago is Gotham city as portayed in the darkest Batman movie. 

However, the insiders know that the winters are only temporary, although there are more cold and gloomy days here in Chicago than sunny and warm days. The warm weather's best amenities are usually free and accessible to every body from rich to poor, healthy to sick, homeless to vagabond - adding new meaning to democracy the Greeks invented thousands years ago. To get the true spirit of this city, all it takes is a bike ride from Hyde Park to North Shore where you'll see all the beauties lake Michigan has to offer on your right and great buildings and parks on your left and different folks of life along the path from marathon trainers to moms strolling babies around to relieve the stresses of a colicky night.

I remember exactly the moment when I felt like an insider to this city. It was an unusually warm April day - about 8 months after I came to Chicago for my studies - almost summer like, I went for roller blading completing a round trip from Evanston to Hyde Park and back. This was a very long ride, but I did not want it to be over. The ride aroused feelings similar to when I was windsurfing in Aruba under high winds or skiing Park City's back bowl on heavy powder. Yes, this city is cold, and it can ruin your shoes, but over time you won't care. Once you get a taste of the lake shore and many others Chicago has to offer, like a good cold American beer at Wrigley, a nice glass of wine al fresco, down to earth people, diverse set of friends, cuisines, you will have more reasons to keep your spirits high when the weather churns you like ice cream. Keep it warm with memories of warm days for now until the sun shows up again in a few months.