I had one of those extempore conversations with my nearly 6 year old son today that left me proud and hopeful.
While eating a sub for lunch, he suddenly went:
Him: it takes 8 minutes for light to go from the sun to the Earth, right?
Me: yes
Him: I am going to make a rocket that can do it in 1 minute
Me: that means, it'll go faster than light
Him: yes
Me: you know, there is a rule that says nothing can go faster than light
Him: what will happen if someone does?
Me: well, weird things will happen, according to some smart scientists
Him: like what?
Me: if you are in that rocket, to you it may seem like it took only 1 minute, but for the rest of us outside it may seem like hours or days. the clocks inside such a rocket will actually run slow, and it'll feel like it was only a short time. but outside clocks will show a much longer time
Him: what will happen if I go even faster?
Me: it'll become more weird. you may feel like you only went for an hour, say. but when you come out, your baby sister will be 15 years old, but you'll only be 6!
Him: wow. what'll happen if I go even faster?
Me: well, it can get scary. when you come out, all your friends would have become old people
Him: and if I go even faster, when I come out they all will have died?
Me: yes. the world will be very strange and lonely
Him: but, that way, someone can live a very long time!
True indeed! If you want to live a very long life (by Earth time), hitch a hike on a faster than light rocket ship.
The reason this makes me feel hopeful is, it's actually surprisingly easy to relate such very abstract and out-of-the-ordinary-experience facts to kids. It's a cliche, but it still feels very good to experience first hand the open-mindedness of a child. So I think there is hope that one day, much of humanity would have shed the medieval beliefs about miracles and prophets, and instead internalized the wonderful learning about our universe that science has gleaned over the centuries.
While eating a sub for lunch, he suddenly went:
Him: it takes 8 minutes for light to go from the sun to the Earth, right?
Me: yes
Him: I am going to make a rocket that can do it in 1 minute
Me: that means, it'll go faster than light
Him: yes
Me: you know, there is a rule that says nothing can go faster than light
Him: what will happen if someone does?
Me: well, weird things will happen, according to some smart scientists
Him: like what?
Me: if you are in that rocket, to you it may seem like it took only 1 minute, but for the rest of us outside it may seem like hours or days. the clocks inside such a rocket will actually run slow, and it'll feel like it was only a short time. but outside clocks will show a much longer time
Him: what will happen if I go even faster?
Me: it'll become more weird. you may feel like you only went for an hour, say. but when you come out, your baby sister will be 15 years old, but you'll only be 6!
Him: wow. what'll happen if I go even faster?
Me: well, it can get scary. when you come out, all your friends would have become old people
Him: and if I go even faster, when I come out they all will have died?
Me: yes. the world will be very strange and lonely
Him: but, that way, someone can live a very long time!
True indeed! If you want to live a very long life (by Earth time), hitch a hike on a faster than light rocket ship.
The reason this makes me feel hopeful is, it's actually surprisingly easy to relate such very abstract and out-of-the-ordinary-experience facts to kids. It's a cliche, but it still feels very good to experience first hand the open-mindedness of a child. So I think there is hope that one day, much of humanity would have shed the medieval beliefs about miracles and prophets, and instead internalized the wonderful learning about our universe that science has gleaned over the centuries.
