Evolution

I was at a conference last week and one of the presenters made a comment (somewhat tangential to their subject) about her one year old along the lines of, "digital is becoming so natural. I have a one-year old who just loves my cell phone." Implying that babies are born with an innate love of technology and that our species has evolved to the point that non-tech is no longer valid.

Which I just have to take issue with. Whether we have evolved or not, babies really aren't a good measure either way. Anyone who has ever played with a baby knows that a baby pretty much loves whatever you stick in front of them. I gave my nine-month old nephew a box of binder clips. He couldn't get enough of them. They made noise, he could stir them around, throw them out of the box, and they made a great chew toy. He had a great time with them. He was equally in love with boxes, spoons, spatulas, and a plethora of other very analog items. Which is really fun, really cheap, and really does defy the brain-evolution-to-tech theory. 

Personally, I'm a huge fan of giving kids boxes and sticks and spoons. I know it's really old school, and you can call me a dinosaur if you want. I can take it.

I mean, who doesn't love dinosaurs?