I visited the Museum of Science and Industry last weekend while on a family vacation to Chicago. While I was there I happened across a booth in the museum where a museum employee was explaining anti forgery techniques the US Mint uses to thwart the illegal replication of US Currency. Something about lab coats and microscopes just draws me in.
As I sat there and listened to the rehearsed spiel and the show-and-tell I realized I was probably the oldest guy in the group. I was amidst raging hormones, 20 something’s and a smattering of wiseacre
10 year olds. I felt old, but enough about that.
As lab coat guy handed out some US currency for us to peer at through the microscope the 20 something beside me chirped “This is blurry!” Lab coat guy and I looked at her incredulously as he said “Turn the little white knob until it becomes clear”.
I just shook my head and went about peering through the microscope at different things as my mind raced. I remembered my childhood. One of my fondest memories is playing with my microscope. I would scoop stagnant water out of a pond, or mount a dead fly onto a slide and I would sit there for hours marveling at the minuscule world that existed right under my nose. I felt pity for the person sitting beside me, for her generation and the ones after. Most of them would never know how exhilarating it is to discover things on your own, rather than it being handed to you. I left the museum a few hours later, but that feeling stayed with me for a little while.
A day later we packed the van and started the three and a half hour trek home. Twilight came and as darkness became more pronounced the glowing GPS screen in a passing car piqued my interest. I watched as the facsimile of a road curved on the screen in unison with the real road ahead. It brought back the memory of the microscope incident at the museum. More spoon fed information. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology, but there is something to be said about figuring things out on your own and not being spoon fed by a machine. There are way too many stories of accidents because a person was following the directions on a GPS and slammed into the side of a brick wall that wasn’t supposed to be there (per the GPS unit).
Keep your wits about you and keep them sharp. They are your best tool……. and they don’t require batteries.
Hello!
I was at the Museum of Science and Industry a couple of months back. Happy times!
I know what you are saying – it seems that we want results quickly and we do not worry about the method – and there is a lot of valuable information in the doing of something yourself.
What is that old proverb about teaching a man to fish?
Thanks for this
Mark
Smallprint´s last blog ..Public Bathroom Laundry
My biggest fear in life is not death, or taxes, it is knowing that when I die everything I know will be lost….forever. DIY (Do-It-Yourself) is in my blood/genes and my goal in life is doing my darndest to teach my kids everything I know.
AH, memmories, of the good ole days…very cool post…makes one think…without googling
BellaDaddy´s last blog ..Lest We Forget…
Ha-ha. I see what you did there!
Yes, we grew in different times..however our times were also different from our parents. So goes the life of our children and our children’s children. I soon believe we won’t have pencils and pens in a couple of more generations. (sigh)
paul(mytwodaddies)´s last blog ..Our Daughter, Emily
Totally true. I am reminded of this phenomenon ever time I have to reset my phone and temporarily lose my contacts and calendar. Usually I just stand there for a couple of hours not knowing what to do. I basically just do what my phone tells me to all day long. Our kids will be worse if we’re not careful.
PS – Did 20 something crack the slide?
Matt´s last blog ..Dr. Matt’s List Of Common Fathering Injuries
Ha-ha. No she didn’t, but I can totally see her doing it and saying the slide was defective becasue it had a crack running through it.
I remember cracking many a slide while being at too high a magnification and still trying to get closer. Good memories.
Excellent point. THis is one of the reasons why I dislike technology. We have great technological tools these days, but we have adapted ourselves to suit their way of delivering data every bit as much as we think we’ve adapted them to our needs. Case in point: teenagers and texting, as in your article about losing context.
The book “The Dangerous Book For Boys” is an excellent resource for recapturing summer exploration and low-tech discovery. There’s a girl version as well, though each have merits for either gender.
Tom´s last blog ..Important Stuff
We own the “Dangerous Book For Boys” boardgame. I’m going to have to get the book for my son soon. It looks like a lot of fun.
This is a concern for me as well. I’m a complete tech nut. I love to have the latest gadgets, use wikipedia and google to feed my info-starved brain throughout the day and have a gigantic library of music and movies on demand through iTunes and my Apple TV.
I wonder if all this ready access will spoil the ability of my sons to “discover”. I remember really well when I first REALLY listened to the Beatles or finally decided to give The Outlaw Josey Wales a try.
I remember little nuggets of trivia I discovered through research (in a library, no less) that I carried around and dished out at appropriate moments so proudly. Now, that info is ready at hand for everyone.
Great post, and interesting things to ponder.
Joel´s last blog ..A Father of Sons
Thanks.
We all at one time or another have a love/hate relationship with technology. It’s great when it works and sucks when it doesn’t.
I love Tom’s suggestion with the books for kids. Giving them something from our past and teaching them that there is a whole world out there to explore…
Mike´s last blog ..Vacation…
Books, and reading, are a major priority in our household. My son has a vast library which he accumulated over the last 9 years. The shelving unit is 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide and is completely crammed full of books. The overflow is in several boxes in our basement. He gets several books a month in the mail through a reading program we signed him up for.
Our 21 month old daughter loves books too. Every single book she owns has missing corners becuase she eats them. Roughage. Good for the digestive system and low calorie.
Technology is there to help us, but many people rely on it. It started with the calculator and people have been getting lazier since. Good post.
Joe´s last blog ..Dogfish Head Burton Baton
Nice new look, by the way
Joe´s last blog ..Dogfish Head Burton Baton
Thanks. That’s Chuck’s doing. He’s the tweaker.
My kids think they can’t watch TV if the batteries in the remote wear out. They don’t even consider they can manually change channels. Technology has made the upcoming generation either brilliant or lazy.
Tara R.´s last blog ..SkyWatch Friday ~ 9
Please, please, please don’t let it be lazy.
Have we become lazier? Or just more efficient?
All I do know is that if a giant electro magnetic pulse is set off somewhere, I’m screwed, I have no real skills!
Scott´s last blog ..Top 5 Things Your Daughter Should Do With Her Boogers
The lazy vs. efficient debate could go on forever. I think both are probably true. I’m right there with you on the electro magnetic pulse dealio.
You make a valid point about relying on your own brain power, rather than having everything spoon fed to you, whether by electronics or some other way. It makes me think of the saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”
I live in Chicago and I haven’t been to the Museum of Science and Industry in years. I think a visit is long overdue. I used to love going their in college. I have a photo of my friends and me sitting in the antique car.
I hope you had a good time while you were here!
SurprisedMom´s last blog ..A little bit of this . . .
We had a great time in Chicago.
My favorite part about the museum is the large electric train set. I enjoyed looking at all the detail and finding funny little things that the builder did for a little humor. There is a street walker in the seedy part of Metro Chicago, as well as a pig running loose in the city streets wearing red Lederhosen. There were a few others, but I can’t remember them right now.
Never been to the museum, but I agree with being spoon fed information. I drive for work…I drive a lot. Everyone always asks why I do not have a GPS…and my answer is “Because I do not need one!”
I always write down directions beforehand and if all else fails and I get lost, I look at a map…a digital map mind you, but at least I am not wandering aimlessly around the world following a digital voice that many times has no idea what it is talking about.
Jared´s last blog ..On A Whim…
Kudos to you my friend.
As I mentioned in a previous comment, I am not against technology, but I am against using it exclusively.