Computer-assisted fair play?

Kevan Davis writes:

"Thought this might interest you, anyway, if you haven't encountered it before - it's a ball-catch game with RFID chips. The idea of a computer keeping score and keeping track of what is and isn't 'fair' seems like something that fits well with your 'well-played game' stuff."

And sends me to a post by Russel Davies who, writing about a toy called "Cosmic Catch," says:

"But where this thing really scored is in an element I've not noticed in a lot of the talk about play - fairness. And kids are utterly, utterly obsessed with fairness. It's the most important element in any game. And human rule-enforcement is automatically deemed unfair. There is no referee, umpire or god-like grandparent that can escape being seen as unfair at some point, for some decision. But the commanding voice of Cosmic Catch escapes all that. The relentless, ineluctable judgement of the RFID machine brooks no argument, is prey to no human frailties and biases and is immediately seen as fair."

And I, in turn, thought it might interest you.

My first, pre-actual-playing-with-the-thing impression is that, fairness-wise, if kids want to cheat, they'll find someway around it. And second, if kids have trouble with the idea of "fairness," this probably won't help them understand or integrate what they need to learn. On the other hand, it's something to think about, in deed it is.

Expect a more detailed report once we get our hands on one of these, Cosmically-Catchingly speaking, fairness-wise.

from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith