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Comment by colomon | Hacker News Reader

While I fully agree that we underestimate kids, I've got to say that my three-year-old spent a gleeful half hour riding up and down escalators back in March, and was sad when we said he had to stop. Little kids can be surprisingly smart and still be amused by simple, repetitive things that would bore adults out of their skulls.

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Farmville, slot machines, Modern Warfare 3, and Halo 7 would all like to raise objections. Adults find amusement in similarly mindless tasks. Adults don't find escalators amusing only because a lifetime of experience has made them common. A trip to Atlantic City or Vegas on the other hand somehow turns losing money into entertainment.

But those are repetitive things specifically designed to hook adults. Very young kids are endlessly amused by simple things like escalators and empty cardboard boxes.

I still get a small thrill from stepping onto a particularly long escalator (eg the one at Angel tube station in London, which is the 3rd biggest in Western Europe), but then again, my partner often says I'm essentially a five year old trapped in an adult's body.

There is an awesome one at Tokyo Station (Chuo line?) Up about two stories, then horizontal for 10 meters, then up another two stories. Ya, I could spend hours on that one....

You should come to the escalator in the Seattle Public Library.

and/or watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbZ7jrMe4t4

this too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&...

You piqued my interest :)

Longest in Tokyo is Shinochanomizu station:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuQTlvWEmbM

Please stand on the left hand side.

North Ryde station in Sydney has a really open area around the escalators which is quite creepy for people afraid of heights:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:North_Ryde_station_escalat...

A three year old, yes, definitely. But the original article was talking about a nine year old.

But I completely agree with you. I think it's awesome how small children can focus so intently on simple things that bore adults. It actually jives well with everything we've learned as we try to make machines more human-like. It turns out that lots of the simple boring stuff is actually really hard, and watching kids progressively conquer it all is amazing.

I think that we do both - underestimate and overestimate kids.

I think it's best to not have preconceived notions about kids, and take them for what they are, good or bad.

Too often, I see parents in my peer group communicating with small kids as though they were adults, expecting adult responses and then being surprised/disappointed when they get a kid's response.

Pretty much all I've ever wanted to do is walk down an up escalator (and vice versa) at just the right pace that I don't move. Then run a bit faster, slow down a bit, etc. All my earthly ambitions boil down to this.

Do it! What's stopping you?

Security. And, shame.

24 years old, and I'll still do this every now and then when an escalator is uncrowded enough.

Now that you mention it, escalators don't thrill me anymore, but walking quickly with those long moving sidewalks at the airport is still stupid fun at 41.

I wanted to do this, so I found an escalator with nobody else on it, and played around. It was great. Reach out and seize your dreams!

Travelators (is that what they are called?) in airports always get me going. Walking the wrong way on themmoon strangely fun. Moon walking for the guy who can't dance.

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