Pompous or Just Too Long?

"There appeared to be no more hope of speeding up the buttoning process than there was of accelerating the insertion of a line of hooks in their respective eyes, for the motion of inserting individual hooks into mating eyes, or buttons into mating buttonholes, was across the gap to be closed, whereas the motion of the hand in progressing to close the gap was along it."

Henry Petroski, The Evolution of Useful Things

Educational?

Is "educational" material a good thing in all circumstances?

Probably not.

Man came home today from school with a recommended web site.  Recommended by his third grade teacher.  Recommended for the weather games.

Dad goes to check on Man at the computer and discovers that the boy is performing virtual hip surgery.

Virtual hip surgery!

Man was on the web site given by the teacher.  I saw the written web address.  He had already done the two weather games and "had gotten distracted with the virtual hip surgery."

This "game" gives you a scalpel and proceeds to tell you how to make incisions through the different layers of tissue.  It is all computer graphics, and there is no fake blood, so it is not at all realistic looking.

What... so now Mr. Lego Engineer will become a surgeon?

I guess in this day and age, it's never too early to start practicing for your future profession with those teacher-recommended web sites!

The web site also has a virtual knee replacement surgery.

Ya know... this could be a lot cheaper than sending him to medical school!