Q&BA: "What's the best way to get kids into science and skepticism?"

[edbbob]

Also watch "The pleasure of finding things out", in which Richard Feynman talks about his dad, and the way he was taught science as a kid.

[getvar]

A: let the system brainwash them

[Jahaison]

Move them out of the state of Indiana will cause them to be more skeptical.

[KellyMichelleMH]

Good for him! He seems to "get it" ... how we learn, what we seek, and how to foster continual curiosity. And he eloquently encapsulates part of why I love science and have always been curious. My Mom encouraged the same idea: If I don't know, we'll find out together.

[coolman9999uk]

Rock falls faster because of air resistance

[martinbondesson]

I love how Phil always has some random objects lying around to help him demonstrate what he says or tries to explain :)

[Ed1H3r0]

watch?v=DldLiGJPtLk

[chrisofnottingham]

In my experience, having primary school (grade school ) school teachers who majored in math(s) and science rather than history, English etc.

[PETE4REALITY]

Do you think James Randi said the same thing?

[TheTatmandu]

I stand corrected. Thx ArthurFWTaylor & Udallln72

[KLDhighway]

That is a beautiful way to put it. It would be nice if more kids find the awesomeness of science :)

[iamgoddard]

Outstanding, sage advice! Especially on the power of admitting not knowing. Mythology almost by definition is a packaged answer of "I know" where "I don't know" belongs.

Kids are born scientists, always asking "Why?" Also good to encourage "How?" questioning; and "How do you know that?" which is a meta-epistemic inquiry about how knowledge acquired and it implies that beliefs require knowable means of justification.

[INMATE2468]

Yes teaching them skepticism I think is more important than anything. A mind is a terrible thing to waste whether its to religion, alien conspiracies, or expanding earth freaks, etc. Its a terrible thing...

[phatpat63]

What's the best way to get kids into science and skepticism?

Just show them some science, the awesome will do the rest.

[boazamr]

My nephews study at a Methodist School. I´m the only atheist of the family.

One of them once looked at me when I gave him a book about evolution and said:

"They taught me this at school, but then they said it was wrong...that it was not true"

As you can see, I don´t have an easy job here....Lol

But they love to ask me things about everything. At least, I´m causing them do think.

[blobvision]

@boazamr No, your task is not easy. I would have been honest and said that most people disagree with their teachers and challenged them to question what they've been taught. I would have also encouraged them to formulate their own opinions based on the evidence. Say you don't agree, because you have more influence than those poor excuses for teachers. Another thing is to ask what the teachers say, then pick apart the logic in those answers.

[boazamr]

@blobvision Yeah...I totally agree but there´s still one BIG problem I didn´t tell: My sister is a believer, and she´ll definetly kick my ass if I try to get them into skepticism. But I´m sure I´ll try to say something like that next time. Worth taking the risk.

[blobvision]

@boazamr But like he said, children are natural scientists. Use that to your advantage.

[ChuckVanDamme]

gravity is only a theory :-D

[Dexxxter7780]

@ChuckVanDamme Its amazing how many people dont accept this fact.

[TheTatmandu]

@ChuckVanDamme : No gravity is not a theory. It's a word used to describe an observed and predictable phenomenum. Jump off a high building onto concrete and the "theory" will kill you. Guaranteed. Sure we don't fully understand gravity today, but that doesn't mean that we won't and can not. Think about the flat earth, and days before electricity. Religion makes people uncurious and docile. They will accept anything fed to them in the name of religion. science and medicine saves lives.

[UdallIn72]

@TheTatmandu

I don't know what value there is in bogging down in semantics, but gravity is a theory.

People have known forever that most things have a tendency to fall toward the Earth. That simple, observable property of the universe is a "fact."

The various theories of gravity account for that fact.

eg. fact: things fall

theory: they fall because of the curvature of space

[ArthurFWTaylor]

@TheTatmandu Not, that's exactly what a theory is, there's no "just" about them. People mistake the idea for "Hypothesis", theory is essentially "Our best answer so far", as you said, we don't fully understand gravity, it's a theory. A very, very solid theory with a lot of very good work behind it.

[ChuckVanDamme]

@TheTatmandu what makes science different from the religion according to the credibility? in your case, you will also accept anything what is fed to you by real scientists. the whole scientific community is a big mess. the whole scientific research is now in the corporate hand and is done in secrecy demanded by the contract. medicine is the best example for this. pills are best to create side effects which are treated with more pills with even more side effects. medicine saves its own life.

[chrisofnottingham]

@TheTatmandu Gravity is a theory.

It is a collection of ideas used to describe and explain something. Despite many incorrect definitions abounding, scientists don't require that something is tested or proven in order to get called a theory eg string theory. It is not the opposite of a hypothesis, in fact a theory can be collection of hypotheses.

Single statements are laws or hypotheses, compound ideas are theories.

[meloveoasis]

@TheTatmandu Actually, if you jump off a building gravity won't kill you. The shift in momentum between you and the ground will!

[93tomb]

@TheTatmandu Of course gravity is a theory. A theory is something that describes an observed and predictable phenomenon. Gravity will never be proven in the mathematical sense, in that it is always a possibility that tiny, invisible, mischievious pixies pull on every atom in a grand charade of playful deceit. Its just not very likely.

[timelady3]

My kids ask so many questions - like when a 3yo asked why the sky is blue? They always ask that one. Be informed.

Oh, and David Attenborough is your friend. ANY good documentaires actually, watched together, taked about:)

iPad & Android apps have been great for them too - kids LOVE interactive.

[tkovrtwrld]

Lie to them constantly. They'll get the idea.

[EdwardHowton]

I've heard the rainbow thing from so many Believers in Woo, but yeah, knowing how a rainbow is made makes it better for me.

I don't just see the pretty colors. In my head, I see every single raindrop falling from the clouds and for a brief moment splitting the light from the sun into the prismatic array of colors, then vanishing again when the angle is wrong only to be replaced. In my head, I see an infinity of ephemera magically (hah) giving life to an arc of color.

Take that, Believers!

[p165711]

I wish my physics teacher way back 40 years ago had your enthusiasm. It is infectious and makes a person want to know more. Instead dreary old Mrs J, made the subject turgid and dull and we she lost us 7th grade. Not one of us got higher than a C grade that year....

[LiberalJerseyman]

You are a great guy Phil

[trudyandgeorge]

Great video. Fantastic message.

[Morrgore]

Why does the Sun get squashed during a sunset?

[HeyImBubProductions]

@Morrgore My guess would be the amount of atmosphere the light has to travel through.

At the bottom of the sunset is where the most atmosphere is. But its just a guess I'm no expert by far..

[HeyImBubProductions]

@Morrgore What do ya know... I just looked it up. I'm right!

[leaf16nut]

"What's the best way to get kids into science and skepticism?"

nudity...