My brother who was intellectually handicapped chose a similar escape from society. He died in his twenties of a pulmonary embolism. It was likely caused by a lack of exercise due to his excessive gaming habit.
My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
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Re: My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
#12Interesting point about planning for contacting digital friends.
For family tech support reasons I have my dad's and mom's Facebook passwords. I don't think they have many digital friends, but still.
My wife doesn't have my passwords -- except the ones for my phone and my laptop -- but if she opens them she'll find Facebook etc. logged in (even though I've sworn off it for a while now). She'll also be able to see whom I've chatted with. Should I die suddenly, a handful of people who are very important to me may find out.
But if something happens to both of us jointly (this night atypical rainfall in my city -- twice the average for February in under six hours -- killed a bunch of people) -- these digital friends will go uncontacted. Maybe I should give some of my passwords to my parents too.
Re: My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
#13My brother who was intellectually handicapped chose a similar escape from society. He died in his twenties of a pulmonary embolism. It was likely caused by a lack of exercise due to his excessive gaming habit.
This this.
An important counterpoint.
Heavy multiplayer gaming is just coming into the mainstream. I never even got into it for its unsavory vibe, much like I never got into one-armed bandits and weed. I knew early alarmist reports were wrong, but speedy mainstreamization (along the lines of what's going on with weed too) is bound to erase previous criticism.
Despite not being a gamer this story touched me -- enough that it made me suspend the slower more rational critical "loop" temporarily. But people do get disable kids all the time, a cousin just got an autism diagnosis for her nonverbal 3-year old; and it's not good to enter gaming into the annals of it-can't-harm-at-least alternative medicine.
Re: My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
#14> It's not a screen, it's a gateway to wherever your heart desires.
I've always found it incredibly frustrating when people refer to "the computer" as an object of interest. "I don't get what's so interesting about that computer." Nothing! It's not the computer that's interesting, the computer is a vehicle to whatever I'm ACTUALLY doing. Building software or fighting orcs or flying a spaceship or talking to my best friend. It's like telling someone who wears glasses that they're "addicted to those glasses" and asking what's so fascinating about a wire frame with some plastic discs in it.
Re: My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
#15Careful reading this one at work if you’re in an open office... I don’t know how professionally acceptable crying at your desk is. Great article about the value of human connection over atypical mediums. :)
Too late D:
Re: My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
#16I find it fascinating how much technology that many of us take for granted, or even disparage as being "lazy", can be a total life-changer for those who are disabled in some way.
My cousin is deaf, and prior to the internet his only real way of communicating in real time over distance required a text-phone device. Hearing people often criticise the deaf community for being insular, but a big part of it is that it can be very isolating, like living in a foreign country where no one speaks your language. The internet has totally changed that for many of them.
While a lot of the smart-home stuff seems excessive for me, being able to control your lights, heating etc, see who is at the door or even unlock it for someone, all from your phone or smart-speaker, is a real boost for someone with limited mobility.
I recently saw something about a guy in a wheelchair who flies drones using a VR headset. I've never been really taken with VR, but for him it's liberating, giving him a physical freedom he could previously only dream of. Sounds like that was very much the case for Mats too. I love the fact that he clearly got to live a life that had some meaning and importance for him with people he cared about.
Re: My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
#17My brother who was intellectually handicapped chose a similar escape from society. He died in his twenties of a pulmonary embolism. It was likely caused by a lack of exercise due to his excessive gaming habit.
This this. An important counterpoint. Heavy multiplayer gaming is just coming into the mainstream. I never even got into it for its unsavory vibe, much like I never got into one-armed bandits and weed. I knew early alarmist reports were wrong, but speedy mainstreamization (along the lines of what's going on with weed too) is bound to erase previous criticism. Despite not being a gamer this story touched me -- enough…
Most mobile games are actually one-armed bandits in disguise.
Re: My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
#18I'm a Software Engineer with the same condition as Mats (Duchenne). There are many others like me as well with in this and other professional industries.
Severe physical disability isn't a complete social and economic dead end. But it is a tough path that I wouldn't wish on anyone. I can say that a "normal life" does still seem to be largely out of reach for us. The worst of it is by far the lack of independence that arises from needing care around the clock. But it's definitely not hopeless. I'm lucky enough to have a good community in my workplace, and very enjoyable work to fill up my attention. This prevents me from thinking about disability too much.
Re: My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
#19> It's not a screen, it's a gateway to wherever your heart desires.
I've always found it incredibly frustrating when people refer to "the computer" as an object of interest. "I don't get what's so interesting about that computer." Nothing! It's not the computer that's interesting, the computer is a vehicle to whatever I'm ACTUALLY doing. Building software or fighting orcs or flying a spaceship or talking to my best friend. It's like telling someone who wears glasses that they're "add…
Well put.
Re: My disabled son – ‘the nobleman, the philanderer, the detective’
#20Related submission from 11 days ago: