Before nodding off to sleep, I like to play a game or two of solitarie on my iPad. A few nights ago after winning a game, I got the message "Congratulations. You have just won 10 games without using Help."

What! I didn’t know my effort was to be rewarded without using help. Unlike the stereotyped, male driver, I do like to ask for help, at least when playing solitaire. I like to check that I have not missed a potential play. I like to check what my play options are before playing.

Now, all of a sudden I was aware of a potential constraint. Could I continue to play solitaire, click on the help button, and not remember that I was preventing additional rewards from the game? Do I want the game to reward me? Do I need the game to reward me.

Why was I being rewarded for not using help? Was the reason to include this condition in the program based on a group of experts in human nature? Or, based on a lone software programmer? Or, based on a team of software programmers with no input from psychologists? Maybe it does not matter.

But I wonder what the effect would be on a young person. Would he begin to avoid help in other situations? Would she think less of a person who seeks help?