When we were young, my sister and I would play ping-pong in our basement.
It was unfair, at times. I was three years older than her and won most matches.
Sometimes, we'd just play to practice and have fun. I can't remember what, if anything, prompted one time we did this my sister pretended to be a robot. We laughed at it and it became a recurring character for her.
"I am a robot," she said, before ping-ponging the ball back to me. "I am programmed to win."
She rarely won but it cracked us up then and it's always one of my favourite things to remember. I mentioned it to my colleague Ellie earlier this week, and I thought about it when seeing the title of the "My Brilliant Friend" series that Max Richter soundtracked. If I remember it right, the book the series is based on, Elena Ferrante's novel of the same name, explores themes of social class, friendship, especially female friendship, and personal identity against the backdrop of post-war Naples, and a brilliant robot and lots of ping-pong.
