> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://werd.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Will Wright: computers enhance our people skills - URL: https://werd.io/will-wright-computers-enhance-our-people-skills/ - Published: 2006-08-29T09:37:25.000Z - Updated: 2025-06-12T11:01:14.000Z - Author: Ben Werdmuller - Tags: General, #ben-684a32da145d7d001be71dae, #Migrated-1749693130536, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2025-06-11 21:52 [Bokardo.com highlights a Wired editorial by Will Wright](http://bokardo.com/archives/sims-creator-on-the-social-aspects-of-computers/), creator of SimCity, SimEarth, The Sims et al. I was particularly drawn by this quote: > > > But the Internet has morphed what we used to think of as a fancy calculator into a fancy telephone with email, chat groups, IM, and blogs. It turns out that we don’t use computers to enhance our math skills - we use them to expand our people skills. [The full editorial is here.](http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/wright.html) Will’s experience is in computer games, and he goes on to say how games are becoming more social. One glance at World of Warcraft or The Sims Online - not to mention his upcoming title [Spore](http://www.spore.com/) or future [Xbox Live developments](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4789809.stm?ls) \- will back this up. However, this represents a wider trend in software, [towards more social designs](http://www.annenberg.edu/ssaw/pmwiki/socialsoftware/index.php?n=Main.DesignPatternsOfSocialComputing). Software doesn’t have a life in itself; it doesn’t do anything, just as a hammer is dormant until someone picks it up and performs an action with it. Remembering that a software tool is simply a tool that allows a person to perform a task, usually involving other people at some stage, allows for more efficient design. Everything must be optimised to enhance the user’s ability to create, share, discover and collaborate.