There’s a fun post on Slate (which has devoted an entire special issue to the very relevant topic of procrastination) about the wonders of computer solitaire. It seems that this is the single most-used program Microsoft has, which is an impressive statistic.

The post makes the interesting point that solitaire is not only good for passing time at one’s desk and giving people something to do on conference calls. It also helps to familiarize new users with fundamental concepts of how to work with a computer: click, move the mouse, drag-and-drop, etc. Once you know how to play solitaire, the theory goes, you don’t find the idea of doing other things on the computer quite so intimidating. The machine is fun, not just a hulking thing that could potentially destroy your data or (more terrifying yet) make you look like a dummy in front of the kids!

I kind of like this notion. It’s been a while since I was a new user, but I do remember being intimidated by the challenge of how to get something done on this incomprehensible box on the desk, when I didn’t understand anything about how it worked. It was more Tetris than solitaire that made me see the machine as a toy as well as a tool, but I’ve played my fair share of electronic card games as well.

Although these days I mostly open up the games only if the network is down, since there’s always something entertaining to look at online otherwise.