Do you let her win?

Everyone is.

They're just using the skill most often referred to as multi-tasking.

 corrijean wins the prize for the most Litterature wise member of the forum for knowing that dolphins (one which said.... [thats bonus points]) and Mice. now what about the time and computers question?

I thought your question was unclear. Deep Thought was the first computer, and Earth was the second. Couldn't tell which one you meant.

If only that were true.

Alas, I'm only a working class Prawn, born to a simple, seagoing family and raised on detritus.

There's something basically wrong with having "creative writing" in an academic setting. 

It's impossible!  The greatest teacher in the world can't teach creativity.

--half-joking, take it easy.

Uh-oh, I feel a "Does Creativity Exist" thread coming on, because, as you know, if a computer's not capable of it....

i love to play chess. it doesn't always matter to me if i win. the nature of the game is to win some and to lose some. i have a brother who plays chess but not nearly as well as i do. i play him very soft. i usually win but every now and then i overlook an obvious fork or an obvious mate, or a must caslte moment just to give him a sense of being in the game. the first and maybe only time he won, it really made his day. he was yelling "YES YES I DID IT." It really made me feel good to be able to bring him such joy. it keeps her (your wife) interested and it allows you to spend some quality time with her. that's the most important thing anyway. the quality time you spend with your loved ones. obviously if the stakes are high you must not lose on purpose, but if it's all just for fun anyway, how can it hurt?

 bingo