What Can 4-yr-olds Understand About Science?

dr.karl.b asks: "My 3 and a half year old son is in Kindergarten. Here in Germany that includes 3 to 6 year olds. He is supposed to explain what his parents' occupations are. I am a scientist, and despite all the advice I have received saying he can't understand what I do, I am determined to try. I study self-motion perception, from basic-science vestibular processing to the role of real-motion cues in flight simulation. We have several cool labs in my institute, like robot-arm motion simulators and full-immersion virtual reality set-ups. We can easily compete with amusement parks for wow-factor, but I have 2 questions: How can I explain my work to my son? How can I invite his class (3-6 yr olds) to our institute to have them learn AND have fun, rather than ONLY have fun?"

Comments

Re:4 year olds and science

[Mockylock]

Maybe we should just teach them to be obnoxious idiots and pricks like yourself, rather than gain any substance. I grew up around religion, as did my family and almost everyone I know. And though I know about evolution and all of the "mythology" in religion, I still find that if it weren't for my years as a child, I would have grown up wondering, "why are we here, if there's no afterlife."

As far fetched as it may seem, it made me feel better knowing that there was something, that I could possibly believe in. I believe that if I didn't.. or if I didn't give a shit about my children, they'd end up to be exactly like you. Having an "I don't give a fuck" idealogy... "fuck the world, after we die it's it..." sense of life... rather than having something called "RESPECT" for other people.

Please.. reply with all you know, I'm not PREACHING about religion, just the idea that kids need to grow up with some substance and have SOMETHING to believe in. Just because you think it's MYTHOLOGY, should we take out fairy tales... nursery rhymes... greek history and cartoons, just because we don't want kids to believe in things that aren't real?

And, for YOU, of all people to judge what is good for a child and what is not.. proves how much you actually know outside of intellectual book-smarts.

If only you had some personality to go with your side of ignorance.

I don't go to church. I don't take my kids to church. But I'm not going to raise my kids to think there is no God, there's nothing to believe in, after you die you'll never see me and you should spend your time flaming religion because it's the only meaning to life.

Re:4 year olds and science

[Mockylock]

Why do you even type? You keep proving you're a piece of shit.

First off... you're either fresh out of college or still in college and hate life, therefore you think you know everything... or you're 40, with no girlfriend or wife, so therefore you just hate everything and lead yourself to believe that it's by your own choice that it happens.

Either way, do you mind telling me exactly what your knowledge is, and experience of raising children? Other than having a shitty childhood and growing up hating your parents which didn't pay attention to you, or are probably divorced... what is your true knowledge of raising children? Do you know what's best for them? Obviously you must know MUCH more than your parents did, because they obviously made you love life and respect others.

Any ideas? How should I raise my kids? To be like you? Or SHROUD their eyes with the insanity of religion and GOD... OH NOOOOO... should I teach them to fight the man as well? Just go for the gusto eh?

Please reply, use wordplay on what I've posted and scrutinize everything I've said for some type of errors. While you're at it, get a thesaurus out and figure out some type of garble to communicate with. When you're finished, tell me how many children you have, and how fucked up children are when they're raised by religion. I guess it's 99% of the planet that's fucked up and YOU'RE the one that's fighting the man, because you're cool.

So, whether religion makes sense or not.. you're the part of the 1% that isn't fucked up and blinded by the religious light.

More wordplay?