I have a two year old, and I'm not sure I like the subversive influence of Thomas the Train. It's teaching him that being useful and reliable is the most impor

I have a two year old, and I'm not sure I like the subversive influence of Thomas the Train. It's teaching him that being useful and reliable is the most important thing an engine can be. The engines all wait for Sir Topam Hat to show up at the station with a task for them. Once, Thomas the Train didn't like the task, and started to object... "Really useful engines don't argue," says Sir Topam Hat. So Thomas goes off and does the task. Personally, I agree that really useful engines don't argue. Why would they bother bringing this dude around to their point of view, when they have so many other options in life? Anyway, I think a lot of these stories date back to a time when the US economy really needed a lot of strong arms and backs that didn't argue. Try to manage programmers like that now :) Actually, try to have that career now as a hacker. You may get to limp along with a task list for a while, but no way are you getting anywhere with that approach. It's not just about startups - I doubt you'd even get hired for anything remotely promising. Won't work, not a chance. The last thing I want to give my kid is a set of values that will make it impossible to thrive in a modern economy.