Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
couldn't really tell which kid was the original one to support a candidate. Each one
was doing it because they thought the other wanted them to. It just sort of hap-
pened as a group. Again, my daughter, in all her wisdom, had grasped an important
concept. She had observed and attempted to codify the complex rules of informa-
tion and influence propagation across the social network of a diverse group of
10-year-olds.
One last weighty issue (which was actually the reason for her phone call that
day) was the consternation she felt about her campaign speech. Kathy was torn
between whether to deliver meaningful, adult-sounding content or make more
exciting, kid-friendly promises. She felt that she needed to include the relevant,
responsible ideas she would bring to the student council. On the other hand, she
feared that this sort of material would come across as boring and uninspiring to her
peers. She knew she needed to mix in some kid stuff such as promising to push for
ice cream on Fridays and what-not. (She was honest enough not to promise to ac-
tually
deliver
on these issues, but only to do her best to get them enacted.) With that
approach, she knew she could inspire her juvenile electorate. Of course, going solely
with that approach had its own caveats in that she feared that she would sound just
like the other candidates or not be taken as someone who was serious about the job.
In the end, she decided on a compromise, selecting from both the more adult-
like topics and the more kid-like ones that would be important to the people who
would possibly be voting for her. She took a similar mindset that, if she didn't appeal
to the voters with the happy-happy stuff, she would never get the opportunity to
bring up what she felt needed to be addressed. (As a note, I'm writing this part of
the topic in the thick of the campaign season for a U.S. presidential election. It
makes reminiscing about my daughter's “substance vs. fluff� dilemma all that more
amusing.) She had analyzed the possible mindsets of her audience and selected a
mixed strategy that balanced the needs of the fifth grade, the necessity of getting
elected to satisfy those needs, and her own desire to be intellectually honest. She
knew that to craft her speech appropriately, she would need to get into their heads
and predict their reactions.
Observations without Order
All of these issues were rattling around in my daughter's brain that week. She had
observed and analyzed the relative odds of the positions of president and vice pres-
ident. She had observed the results that an increase in the numbers of posters and
stickers could achieve. She had observed how opinions could be swayed by sec-
ondary factors such as the opinions of others in proximity and the social pressures
that are endemic to a school environment. And my poor, conflicted offspring
observed that, in some contexts, an idea without substance could actually have
more
influence than something concrete.
