The Computer Says No

My gorgeous 8 year old son (WW2) loves football.  He loves football rather obsessively, much like his older brother, Number One Son.  Unlike NOS, he has extra media with which to enjoy this obsession.  He can watch football on the television, keep track of the Premiership, Championship and various leagues on the PC and play football games on his DS.  Of course he loves playing actual football.  Today he got Player of The Day in his year group.  Apparently his smile would have made a Cheshire cat look toothless.  I wasn't there.  I was up in Sheffield watching John Simm, Colin Tierney and Ruth Gemmell in Betrayal at The Crucible.  

Some days we watch a football match on the television together.  We both love Tottenham Hotspurs (keep the hissing down at the back) and NOS loves Arsenal so the North London Derby is rather interesting in our house.  WW2 will watch the television whilst keeping an eye on the score on the computer.  The television records the live event and the computer updates a short while afterwards.  There have been many times when he says 'Mummy, they've scored a goal on the television but that can't be right.  The computer says no!'  He hasn't quite worked out that the PC is behind by a few moments and when it finally refreshes he says 'Oh it's okay now.  They have scored.  The computer says so.'.


When I support my ladies through pregnancy we talk about how things are going.  I get told about dating and sizing scans.  I get told about glucose tests and inductions.  I remember one of my ladies was sent to the midwife for obese mothers.  When she questioned the maths that they used, which when applied correctly didn't have her in the obese catergory, she was told that the figure written down was the one that they would work with.  She was labelled obstructive when she pointed out the simple error.  The computer said no.  I remember as well the women who have laboured silently and arrived at hospital knowing that their babies are imminent.  They are told that there is no way they are in proper labour because they aren't displaying expected signs ie screaming or calling out in pain.  The computer says no.  I think about and remember the ladies who are told that they need to go home because they are only 1-2cm dilated and that it will be hours yet before their babies come.  Even before they make to leave the hospital, they are holding their newborns.  The computer says no.


It's important that we inform ourselves and trust ourselves so that when the 'live' action happens we don't have to rely on machinery to tell us.