Re:yea for gender bias (semi off-topic) (Score 2)

It's worth wondering whether a 3 year old girl sending blank e-mails to grandma would have been news. Something about your post hit a nerve, because in my experience, the gender bias is lifelong. I wanted to play around with computers ever since I saw Star Trek at 6, but in the dark ages when I went to junior high school, I was told I could not take the computer class because "the boys already know all that stuff and you would just slow them down." In high school, I was unable to find anyone to show me how to use our school's one Apple computer because it was valuable "and we can't risk your breaking it." It wasn't until college that I managed to teach myself to type by playing Zork 1 while the guys were all busy getting stoned. I bought my first computer with my own money instead of a car, and I couldn't get anyone to teach me how to use it, so I taught myself. I was getting a very late start by then, and the fact that I managed to pull a technical career out of a hat was just persistence and good fortune. Sure, if you're a girl, you can get there. You can even be a prodigy like the little boy in the article, but even now, you won't be likely to find a lot of help or encouragement. It's no wonder there aren't many little girl geeks. They've been told they'll break it, that it's not something they'd enjoy, that the boys have been computing since birth and it's too late to start. The games offered for girls are unexciting and insipid. How many Barbie and Disney programs is a parent going to buy? If anyone out there has a young daughter and is considering buying a computer for her, for goodness sake, don't buy the Barbie computer. If you must buy a kiddie computer, buy the Hotwheels version, because chances are your child will be better off knowing math than fashion design. I still hear "Cool, a girl who's heard of Linux!" The salesmen always try to lead me to the eOne. My mailbox is stuffed with unsolicited ads for eve.com and women.com. And here I am at slashdot, wondering if that makes me a freak of nature. Personally, I don't think what the 3 yr. old can do is all that impressive. It sounds like he is just learning to read, so how much use can he really be getting out of the internet? In all likelihood, his parents are pushing him. Show me a 3 year old girl who can do the same, and then I would be amazed. I'd be amazed they let her touch the machine, for starts. And no, I'm not a feminist, just a realist.