Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!wivax!decvax!ittvax!wxlvax!dwex From: dwex@wxlvax.UUCP Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Re: WarGames: A minority opinion Message-ID: <135@wxlvax.UUCP> Date: Sat, 2-Jul-83 19:48:27 EDT Article-I.D.: wxlvax.135 Posted: Sat Jul 2 19:48:27 1983 Date-Received: Sun, 3-Jul-83 01:16:35 EDT References: <2621@sri-arpa.UUCP> cvl.454 Lines: 39 I'm really getting sick of all the cuts at WarGames. You people entirely missed the point of the movie. Nobody ever said it was there to show how great or how dangerous computers were. The point of the movie was that nuclear war sucks; there is no way to win, and people should get that through their thick heads. Needless to say, I agree with that point of view. Sure there were inaccuracies; what movie doesn't have them? But I challenge anyone to show me something that is strictly IMPOSSIBLE (not UNLIKELY, but IMPOSSIBLE). I am 18 years old. Maybe the movie was aimed at my age group, and that's whay it had such an impact on me. I don't want to see any comments saying that I'm just a kid and that I don't know what I'm talking about. I have been programming computers for ten years. (That's right, I started when I was eight years old.) I am working this summer as a programmer for I.T.T., so I know my stuff in that area. Also, when I was younger, I was very into the military, even considering it as a career, until several years ago it dawned on me that war is STUPID. So I know what I'm talking about in that respect too. I saw nothing in the movie that could NOT have been done. There was much that was unlikely (WOPR itself, mainly), but I have seen programs that "learn". WOPR was just an extension. There was nothing remarkable about David's abilities, either. Given the money, I could have done the same things. And why couldn't WOPR have had that warped personality? Dr. Falken certainly did, and he programmed it. I have said enough. I'm sure I will get flamed at for actually daring to LIKE the movie. (I thought it was one of the best movies I had ever seen). I'm not ashamed of it. David Wexelblat ...decvax!ittvax!wxlvax!dwex P.S. To add insult to injury, I noticed that no one else has mentioned the two boo-boos that I picked up: 1) When David was given the option of which side to choose in the game, his response appeared on the monitor before he typed it. 2) The fat general told SAC to scramble two F-16 fighters, and they showed pictures of two F-15s.