"Computers, and especially games, may also play into this
generational shift in attitude. My generation was among the first to
really have games around our entire lives. What does that have to do
with anything? Unlike children of previous generations, who were
presented with unyielding eternal institutions like school and family
and even Little League, games gave my generation a chance to create our
own worlds, our own institutions. Life was just another realm in which
we could play with the rules.I wonder whether this sort of game playing and this sort of
experimentation with institutions from an early age is what contributed
to the massive rise of entrepreneurship we have seen over the past
decade or so. Instead of being locked into a world where institutions
were king and where the goal was to be a company man, my generation
realized that institutions could be brought into being, that starting a
new company was like starting a new game. (Okay, the massive drop in
capital costs to start a company also contributed, but I’m trying to
make a point here)."