Kids These Days

Kids these days are a lot smarter than I was back then. Most of them, before they're even old enough to go to school, can figure out how to work a computer and do all sorts of crazy things. That fact sometimes leads me to believe that as children, we have much larger brains in relation to our relative size, and as a result we have a far greater capacity to understand and figure things out. As we get older, the brain to body size ratio changes and we are no longer as smart. This is why a three-year old managed to purchase a $17,000 car on eBay despite the fact that he can't read.

That in and of itself is something that amazes me. But I can't give full credit to the kid. Part of the credit must go to eBay itself for making such an intuitive interface and simplifying things so much so that you can purchase a car without any problem. Apparently what happened in the case of Jack Neal of London, England is that his mother left the room while browsing eBay. Clicking here and there as kids are wont to do, little Jack apparently clicked on the picture of the pretty pink car and then managed to scroll down and click on all the appropriate buttons to make the purchase. All before his mother returned to the room.

Now I have taken a look on eBay and I can tell you, it isn't just a simple matter of point, click and go. Although some shortcuts and cookies within the system will allow you to streamline the process, you still have to take certain steps before you can complete the purchase. That's why I'm convinced kids are smarter than we give them credit for. It's like that episode of Bugs Bunny where Bugs is babysitting a kid who he thinks is a baby but in actuality is a pint-sized gangster. Now I'm not accusing little Jack of being a gangster but a point-and-click bandit might be more appropriate.

I can't imagine ever having done anything of that sort as a kid. Of course the internet was in its infancy at the time simply because Al Gore hadn't invented it yet. But still, there wasn't a time when I did anything of that sort. Maybe it was because I wasn't as curious as some of these other kids or perhaps it's because I was scared of what sort of wrath I could possibly incur from my parents. Whatever the case, I always left such things well enough alone and tried to stay on the straight and narrow.

I applaud little Jack for having the fortitude to test out his internet skills at such a young age and I further applaud him for choosing to buy a car. As a new driver, it is important to choose a good used car prior to making that all important new car purchase. However, as a fellow car enthusiast I would be a bit concerned over his choice of the Nissan Figaro. And the fact that it's pink? Well... let's not start in on that just now.