Comments on: What’s going on in there?!?!

By: Lawrence B. Crowell

Lawrence B. Crowell — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:15:21 +0000

The brain is really a set of brains. Dendritic connections are weighted according to past memories or learning experiences. When children learn they are not only weighting dendrites, but they are getting these dendrites and sub-brains (local neural processors) to connect with each other right.

Kids think and do the funniest things. This continues for years, and as the father of new teenager I can say they continue to think and do crazy things. We then give then the keys to a car — doh! Not there yet, but it is coming.

Some people never get their neural processors to function quite right, but those who have a sembence of smarts and the right connections go into politics. Some might even become President, but often what they need is not political power, but therapy.

Lawrence B. Crowell

By: Jonathan Vos Post

Jonathan Vos Post — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 11:10:46 +0000

No, the sun is too hot to be fire.

I suggest always trying to give a true answer in your reference frame. If it seems weird to them, it can lead to further interesting questions.

By: HypotheticalGeologist

HypotheticalGeologist — Sun, 20 May 2007 03:00:08 +0000

So, akhsillom, was there a pebble stuck in the sole of your shoe?

I think the answer I gave at the time was something along the lines of “*stammer* … uh … yes, it’s something like that.” Of course, it’s not, because the canoncical definition of “pebble” is a particle with a grain size of 4 – 64 mm, while the groves in my shoe are at most 2 mm wide, and certainly couldn’t fit anything larger than a very fine gravel.

One of the challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration is adapting one’s vocabulary to that of the local community.

By: Warren

Warren — Thu, 10 May 2007 05:48:11 +0000

I’m struck by the same fact – at that age, they can reason, but the reasoning is based on only six years of experience, and is thus subject to the vagaries of this limited basis from which to draw. This struck me in particular when my six year old sun commented on how the moon follows us as we drove. I, of course, explained that the moon was very far away, so far that it’s position with respect to us was essentially unchanged even though we were moving, while horizon objects were close enough to move with respect to us. This gave the moon the appearance of moving with respect to horizon objects and following us. His response, after a moment’s thought – “Dad, the moon can’t be that far away, or it wouldn’t be able to follow us so well.” The logic is beautifully consistent, even if flawed. The depressing thing is that in ten years most of them will stop even noticing that the moon follows them, let alone wondering why. I really am trying to make sure my kids are the exception.

By: Julianne

Julianne — Tue, 08 May 2007 16:47:53 +0000

Which is perfectly true, as any astronomer knows, Julianne… unless you’ve got some neat hydrogen and helium shoes I don’t know about.

I did use the shoe non-sequitur to ask if the students knew where metals came from. Almost the entire class shouted out “GOD!”, except for one little rationalist who said “rocks”. So, I explained that they were made in stars, and that everything in their body had at one time been made inside a star, which elicited a “That’s SO COOL” from a couple of kids. The whole event struck me as demonstrating the roots of Intelligent Design — i.e. if you have no idea how something happened, God did it.

By: David

David — Tue, 08 May 2007 08:15:46 +0000

shoes are made of metal

Which is perfectly true, as any astronomer knows, Julianne… unless you’ve got some neat hydrogen and helium shoes I don’t know about.

By: Stephen Uitti

Stephen Uitti — Mon, 07 May 2007 16:52:27 +0000

My fellow conspirator and i showed some advanced 5th graders the Sun the other day. H-alpha, white light fitler, eyepiece projection, and pin hole projection. Hey, we had a sun spot group! But the most outrageous questions had to do with making things catch fire with a magnifiing glass. Mostly the boys. Yet even there, one kid asked, What makes the cardboard catch fire? This fell right into the safety lesson about why we don’t look at the Sun directly.

“Mostly, in astronomy, we tell you to look at the star. But with the Sun, we tell you to look at your shadow. You can learn alot about the Sun by looking the other way.”

Some third graders walked by and were instantly hooked. Too bad we couldn’t stay all day and show the whole school.

By: mollishka

mollishka — Sat, 05 May 2007 20:42:10 +0000

I need to get me a pet lava monster.

By: spyder

spyder — Sat, 05 May 2007 16:44:22 +0000

Lava monsters can be nothing more, nor less, than the layers of solidified crustings over lava tubes, as one walks ever so gingerly across the landscape. You just never know which step could be your last, the monster troll beneath the frail bridge reaching up, grabbing a leg, and sucking you down. Of course, if you are afraid of the monsters you will never venture out to see some of those most amazing landscapes and dynamic evolving earth. Imagine these kids seeing deep-sea lifeforms, or being taken down 300+ meters below the surface, into caves filled with giant crystalline structures. Are they monsters? Is their evil in the dark? We have so much to share with all of them, and to help them understand to not be afraid of the immensity and wonder of all yet to be discovered and experienced. Thanks to those above who have visited classrooms and shared that spark.

By: Kindergarten Science « Michael Daum

Kindergarten Science « Michael Daum — Fri, 04 May 2007 18:18:34 +0000

[...] May 4th, 2007 Just thought I’d link toÂ this very funny post on Cosmic Variance.Â She’s talking about discussions about science with kindergarten kids, and how their minds are time-shared between the rational and the not-so-much.Â Priceless quotes from the latter slice…could have came straight from the mouth of Jake the Snake! Posted by Michael Daum Filed in kids, physics [...]