(no subject)
Aug. 26th, 2008 09:16 pmSincere thanks to everyone who weighed in on Alex's question. It struck me as such an unusual question - not "what happened" but "who else thinks about what happened" - that I really wanted to get an answer for her. I wanted her to get a glimpse of the whole world of intellectual curiosity out there. So thanks especially to those of you who mentioned the other aspects of dinosaurs that you think about.
It's a weirdly meta question for a three-year-old, isn't it? I clarified it with her a couple of times, to make sure that she wasn't just asking for a recap of the meaning of "extinct" or the asteroid explanation. No. She really did want to know whether other people thought about the topic. I read her every response, and she enjoyed them.
Now my biggest problem is explaining to her that many people in our social circle - particularly her friends at school - don't have an LJ, and therefore haven't weighed in on her question.
So that we don't end on such a rarified note, let me share with you an unexpected simile she came up with in one of our other scientific conversations of the day: "So the colon is like a waiting room for poop, and the bladder is like a waiting room for pee."
That's my kid.
It's a weirdly meta question for a three-year-old, isn't it? I clarified it with her a couple of times, to make sure that she wasn't just asking for a recap of the meaning of "extinct" or the asteroid explanation. No. She really did want to know whether other people thought about the topic. I read her every response, and she enjoyed them.
Now my biggest problem is explaining to her that many people in our social circle - particularly her friends at school - don't have an LJ, and therefore haven't weighed in on her question.
So that we don't end on such a rarified note, let me share with you an unexpected simile she came up with in one of our other scientific conversations of the day: "So the colon is like a waiting room for poop, and the bladder is like a waiting room for pee."
That's my kid.
no subject
Date: 2008-08-27 02:27 am (UTC)