Mechanical, Disillusioned Mentality

There is a new sickness sometimes called, “mechanical, disillusioned mentality” which is affecting a few teenagers and adults who spend countless hours playing computer games or writing programs. The symptoms seem to be a general loss of interest or ability to interact with people on the informal terms that people do tend to use. They can no longer follow instructions unless they are perfectly stated, and they have no tolerance for discussions with people who relate a story imprecisely or in the wrong order. Your author may be suffering from minor symptoms of this disease. Recently I stated without looking away from the computer monitor, “If pizza, I’m ready.” No response was acceptable other than, “It’s ready to eat.”