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4thofelevenHad a weird conversation with my cousin while I was down there over the holidays. His parents have finally got him a decent computer, which is nice because it means I can buy him decent computer games for Christmas, instead of trying to find once that would run on the ancient system he used to have. I ended up getting him Civilization 4 and the expansions, and he really enjoyed playing it.
Anyway, I was explaining how the game works and giving him some strategic hints. I was talking about how some units are not very good most of the time, but against specific types of enemy units they're 'like Kryptonite'.
He stares blankly at me until I explain what Kryptonite is. Weird, huh?
Here's the weirder part - a little while later, I'm explaining what all the Wonders of the World in the game are and what they do. One of them is the Sankore University. It's a pretty obscure building compared to the Great Wall or the Pyramids, and my cousin asks where it is in real life. I grin and say "Timbuktu".
Now, I'm expecting him to glare at me and demand a real answer, so I can insist that it really is at Timbuktu, and we go round in circles until I finally explain that Timbuktu isn't a legendary place, it's a real city. Instead, my cousin just nods, satisfied.
I'm a little suprised, but I think maybe he just can't be bothered arguing with me. So I ask him "Wait - you know where Timbuktu is?"
"Sure, it's in west Africa. In Mali, isn't it?" He says.
Who the hell knows where Timbuktu is but doesn't know what Kryptonite is?
Anyway, I was explaining how the game works and giving him some strategic hints. I was talking about how some units are not very good most of the time, but against specific types of enemy units they're 'like Kryptonite'.
He stares blankly at me until I explain what Kryptonite is. Weird, huh?
Here's the weirder part - a little while later, I'm explaining what all the Wonders of the World in the game are and what they do. One of them is the Sankore University. It's a pretty obscure building compared to the Great Wall or the Pyramids, and my cousin asks where it is in real life. I grin and say "Timbuktu".
Now, I'm expecting him to glare at me and demand a real answer, so I can insist that it really is at Timbuktu, and we go round in circles until I finally explain that Timbuktu isn't a legendary place, it's a real city. Instead, my cousin just nods, satisfied.
I'm a little suprised, but I think maybe he just can't be bothered arguing with me. So I ask him "Wait - you know where Timbuktu is?"
"Sure, it's in west Africa. In Mali, isn't it?" He says.
Who the hell knows where Timbuktu is but doesn't know what Kryptonite is?
