The Placebo Effect and Videogames Interesting. I've been thinking about the imperfect information you get in videogames. Especially for FPS-style games for casual players: it's hard to tell if you're killed because of a smart computer opponent vs your inexperience or just because of a weapon imbalance in the game or what not- I think that tends to put a damper on the need for good AI in games. (I remember reading a book behind the scenes in "Wing Commander", that mentioned when the enemy spacecraft were visible they swoop and loop and try and look cool, but when you couldn't see them they'd just try to head straight for your tail.)
Lately I've been thinking about scanning some old high school and college docs and getting rid of them. The cringe-worthiness of my writing at the time made
this Slate article on youthful writing haunting us online resonate for me. And I wonder if I'm a better writer, a better judge, or what.
