I had a terrific chat with Thomas yesterday in the car on
the way to school. It started with him saying the difference between humans and
animals is that humans drive cars. I engaged the Socratic method, and he
abandoned that idea after I pointed out Gramper in Iowa was born around the
time cars were being invented, and asked if people born before then were
animals since they didn’t have cars. After a few more questions and answers, we
were onto the use of tools and really hit the sweet spot. I asked him what is
the difference between a bear sitting on a log and a person sitting on a log? Apparently, a bear just sits
on a log, but a human knows what a chair is and is using the log as a chair. And
so, Thomas now tells me that the difference is the way humans and animals think about things. I reckon he is in pretty good company on that track.
"I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself"
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself"
~ DH lawrence
And no, its not a perfect answer. And yes, my questions were leading, but it’s still an position that one could find thrown around an under-grad philosophy class and I am very proud of the way he reached
that conclusion. He was willing to abandon ideas when they were shown to be false
(using cars = human) and moved to new conclusions supported by his considered answers
to the questions I was asking.
Then he wanted to know if the Hulk is stronger than
Superman. Fair enough, some mysteries are more important than others for a 6yrs old.
BTW - The 1st person that correctly identifies the source and relevance of the title for this one wins 5 internets.
Socrates: executed with a drink containing hemlock. Hence the relevance.
ReplyDeleteClose, but only 1/2 the answer.
ReplyDeleteAlison got it over on Facebook. "I drank what?" is a false quote delivered by Val Kilmer in the movie 'Real Genius'.
True. But who wants to admit to watching a film with Val Kilmer in it? I mean, really... :P
ReplyDeleteKiss Kiss Bang Bang, starring Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer, directed/written by Shane Black. Fucking brilliant movie. Kilmer is outstanding in it as a gay Hollywood PI, but Downey steals the show as a small-time burglar who accidentally becomes a movie "face". The whole thing is a loving tribute to pulp crime and film noir, and it is both hilarious, and very black indeed.
DeleteAlso: Kilmer as Madmartigan in Willow. Up until KKBB, that was the best thing he ever did. Very cool.
Nice one.
ReplyDeleteSometimes the written word is treacherous. What I'd like to say right now: I'm incredibly glad to see you're not underestimating your kid. But in print, that looks fucked up, as though I'm pretentiously patronising you. Without the expression, the body language and the rest, it's almost an insult.
But I'm stuck with writing here. And it's true. I'm glad to see you engaging with the little beast at the level of which he's capable. I see way too many people (many of whom should definitely know better) either disregarding the capacities of their kids, or ignorant of them. Either of those is disappointing.
Seeing this snippet of you and young T is really damned cool.