> i can't help but wonder if today's tech gadgets that both work consistently, have beautifully polished ux and are geared towards consumption deny kids this ki

> i can't help but wonder if today's tech gadgets that both work consistently, have beautifully polished ux and are geared towards consumption deny kids this kind of skill development opportunity. Certainly the case. Watching inane youtube videos on an ipad won't teach you anything more about technology than being a couch potato in front of a TV. Using a technological artifact is not intrinsically educational. I've heard plenty of stories about "I was a gamer and that's why I learned how to use computers", but those stories are from a time when getting a game to run required troubleshooting, finding and reading informational resources, etc. The iOS appstore isn't teaching any of this.