The difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.
– Adam Savage
Mythbusters embodied the scientific method, but I do wish they’d stopped to actually properly explain it at some point. “Writing it down” is definitely part of the process, but it’s not the whole process. The whole process is what they actually did in most of their episodes:
- Make a prediction
- Design an experiment to test that prediction
- Run the experiment and observe the results
- Come up with a conclusion
Sometimes they played fast and loose with some of these steps to make entertaining TV. But, fundamentally, they were doing science.
Must be nice to afford science butter in this economy!
If it’s anything like scientific grade peanut butter then yeah, it’s expensive! https://shop.nist.gov/ccrz__ProductDetails?sku=2387&cclcl=en_US
This is exactly the kind of shit you should do with your kids. It teaches them it is not only good to be curious about things but also how to then go seek an understanding to those curiosities. That and its just fun as hell to do silly, goofy experiments.
When adults run into ‘dumb’ questions like this, we tend to dismiss them and move on, forgetting that there is always an opportunity to learn or to teach. All this really does is stall curiosity and leave the world with a little less knowledge.
Exactly.
The flipside, however, is that it validates them asking even more questions, which is good for their development but incredibly annoying for the parent. That said, I could name a bunch of useless facts now because I’ve looked up way more than I should have. Dinner time is frequently like this (I have three kids, will just give them numbers):
Kid 1 - How far away is Paris?
Me - About…
Kid 2 - What happens if you microwave a fork?
Me - Hold on, let me…
Kid 3 - How do you say “ounce” in Spanish?
Me: Why would you even…
Kid 2 - I’ll go try
Me - No!! That could destroy the microwave! Sit down, let me answer Kid 1 first. About 5000 miles (made up number, but surprisingly close)
Kid 1 - How much is that in inches?
Me - Hold on, it’s Kid 2s turn. If you microwave a fork, you’ll get sparks and maybe break the microwave. We’re not going to try it, but maybe I can find a video for you.
Kid 3 - You didn’t answer my question!
Me - Sorry, I don’t know since I don’t speak Spanish, but I’ll look it up for you. (10 seconds later) Apparently “la onza,” though I don’t think anyone that speaks Spanish uses ounces.
Kid 2 - What if I microwave my dolly?
Kid 3 - Why?
Me - <to Kid 3> They usually use metric, so either grams (gramo) or milliliters (mililitro). <to Kid 2> I don’t know, but it might ruin your dolly.
And so on. I have to juggle three conversations at the same time, and sometime a fourth if my SO wants to discuss something. It’s absolute madness, but I do what I can to encourage curiousity, but I don’t fault anyone for giving lame answers.
That’s good parenting
Stick of butter like $12 salted these days
Where the fuck you getting your butter? I pay like $4 for 4 sticks of Kerrygold.
I get all my butter down at the local sex shop, “Slippery Al’s”. I slather it on my body when I need to go swimming in the cold Canadian ocean once a week
So you’re buying by the drum then?
…our kerrygold comes in slabs, not sticks…
Slabs are good, but I rarely use more than half a stick at a time. The sticks are just easier to deal with.
