Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

An Homage

Cognitive Daily: Info-boxes and resistance to science
There’s been lots of commentary online about Paul Bloom and Deena Skolnick Weisberg’s article about why children (and adults) often resist learning scientific information. Deric Bownds gives the money quote from the article:

“Resistance to science will arise in children when scientific claims clash with early emerging, intuitive expectations. This resistance will persist through adulthood if the scientific claims are contested within a society, and it will be especially strong if there is a nonscientific alternative that is rooted in common sense and championed by people who are thought of as reliable and trustworthy.”

I was a fortunate child. My father, despite his many other faults, was interested in science and learning and he had a surprisingly wide range of interests for a guy who was an iron worker. He listened to opera and liked to read and wanted someday to see the pyramids in Egypt. He wasn’t around home much and my parents split up permanently when I was about 11 years old but I think his interest in learning must have rubbed off on my older sister in a positive way because it was she who, more than anyone else in my life, most memorably influenced my enthusiasm for science and learning.

We had a set of Golden Book Encyclopedias that, if I recall correctly, my mom picked up at the grocery store. (It was one of those deals where you could buy one volume each week at a relatively low price.) When I was young and I’d ask my sister (who is five years older) a question about this or that, she’s often say “Well, let’s look it up” and we’d go over to the encyclopedias to see if we couldn’t find the answer. We lived in what was, at that time, a fairly rural area so many of my questions would be about different kinds of plants or animals.

Those encyclopedias got a lot of use! They eventually just fell apart. (I suspect they weren’t all that well-made to begin with.)

At any rate, my point in taking you on this little trip down memory lane is to demonstrate how early influences can shape a person’s entire life. My sister taught me that science provides reliable answers about the world and that those answers are available and understandable if you just go looking for them. (I should also mention that our maternal grandmother was a librarian and, though she died when I was only about 7 or 8 years old, while she lived we made good use of the Crystal Bay library’s resources too.)

I was lucky to have the kind of sister I had. She might read this and feel a little embarrassed about all this praise, but people should hear about the good they’ve done in their lives. Not only did my sister have a hand in making me the smart and interesting (and modest!) person I am today, she also raised four children — all adults now — who are also smart and interesting. And, though it probably goes with saying, my sister is herself exceptionally smart and interesting.

When I began this post I really hadn’t expected to be going on and on like this. I thought I’d just briefly describe the childhood influences that led me to become an adult who trusts science. I guess you just never know when an homage will sneak up on you.

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I just discovered this related posting on one of the ScienceBlogs about discussing science with kids. If this sort of thing interests you, be sure to read the comments from other people. Not surprisingly, people who are successful at getting kids interested in science are those who aren’t afraid to answer their questions with, “I don’t know. Let’s look it up.”

And here’s another longer post (by the same author) about the same thing. It’s all very interesting and anyone who has children — or spends any amount of time around children — or who plans, at some point in their lives, to spend some time around children — should read and absorb this information. Teach children about science. Teach children to recognize bullshit.