How do you respond to a dinner invitation that says "Eight for eight thirty"? What might induce you to get off a London train at a place called Mud Chute? When is it okay to drive over a sleeping policeman? And why do the Brits keep saying "Who's she, the cat's mother"?
The way computers have changed our lives is indeed fascinating. Even small kids are getting exposed to them wherever they go. It's not surprising if they start saying "C" for "Computer" instead of "Cat".
"Steps in the ecology of the mind" is a profound statement on the mechanisms that make us tick, on the human condition. Really, what is the difference between a nip and a bite? They look the same, when you are watching kittens playing, how can you tell if they are biting in earnestness or just fooling around? Well you can't really tell, because a nip is a bite and isn't a bite all at the same time. However, you can tell, of course you can, because a nip has a sign posted on it saying "this is play", a bite on the other hand has a sign saying "this is for real". Moreover tells us Bateson - one of the greatest minds in social thought - whoever cannot tell the difference between a bite and a nip is in big trouble, because the sign stating "this is play" enables us to tell reality from imagination, thus safeguarding our sanity.
