My recent foray into Dunwichian power politics may have struck some of my readers as morose and unnecessarily pessimistic.\u00a0 Possibly so, but I was trying to capture the essence of our current reality where an honest and transparent analysis of how our society works reveals enormous hypocrisy.\u00a0 And the nature of our \u201cdemocracy\u201d reveals itself to be a process manipulated by the powerful who have no regard for the people.\u00a0 But just to show you I haven\u2019t despaired of life I was reminded today of what good can be achieved by getting involved with the young.<\/p>\n
I remembered as a youngster being intrigued by astronomy.\u00a0 Maybe it was because of the space program that was getting off the ground about the time I became aware of current events.\u00a0 Maybe it was because my parents gave me access to books and other resources concerning science.\u00a0 But however it happened, I was fascinated by the details of the solar system.\u00a0 I was always reading statistics about the size, location and physical attributes of Saturn and Jupiter, Mercury and Mars.\u00a0 And once I began reading science fiction, I became all the more absorbed by this extension of my world into the solar system.\u00a0 And I suppose that my early interest in science is responsible for much of my orientation in school and afterwards.\u00a0 Engineering was the logical conclusion for someone interested in the practical application of science to life.\u00a0 I suppose that if NASA\u2019s space program hadn\u2019t petered out after the moon landings, I would have tried to get involved in an engineering program that had the potential of involving space travel but that was just a childhood fantasy.<\/p>\n
But remembering how exciting and interesting it was to discover the larger universe, I decided to give Princess Sack of Potatoes her first astronomy lesson.\u00a0 We looked at photos of the planets and I tried to explain some of the physical characteristics of the various worlds that circle our sun.\u00a0 Mercury and Venus are too close to the Sun and therefore too hot.\u00a0 Mars is too small and too far from the Sun and therefore lacking a useful atmosphere and too cold.\u00a0 And I tried to explain why the gas giant worlds weren\u2019t places where terrestrial life could exist because of their nightmarish temperatures and pressures and poisonous atmospheres.<\/p>\n
So was my lesson successful.\u00a0 I don\u2019t really know.\u00a0 She seemed interested enough and she enjoyed the colorful photos and pictures of the planets.\u00a0 But will it inspire a deep curiosity about the universe.\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s much too soon to tell.\u00a0 Maybe after we begin to discuss interstellar and intergalactic space I\u2019ll see if she becomes bored with the subject.\u00a0 But there was definitely one moment of planetary solidarity.\u00a0 When we had finished with Neptune, she wanted to know what had happened to Pluto.\u00a0 Full disclosure, I was very angry when the international astronomical societies stripped Pluto of its status as a planet.\u00a0 I felt it to be an arbitrary and probably anti-American gesture.\u00a0 So, this sympathy for Pluto by my granddaughter was a very welcome occurrence.\u00a0 When I found out that this emotion was fostered because the planet has the same name as Mickey Mouse\u2019s dog, I was a little less enthusiastic.\u00a0 But still, when dealing with small children you take your victories where they come.<\/p>\n
So, teaching children and inspiring curiosity about the wonders of science is something that we can do even in the world of Joe Biden and the American Security State.\u00a0 One small step for a grandfather, one giant leap for mankind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My recent foray into Dunwichian power politics may have struck some of my readers as morose and unnecessarily pessimistic.\u00a0 Possibly so, but I was trying<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3366,1263,2860,3545],"tags":[4633,2093,4654,2341],"class_list":["post-30136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-life-in-dunwich","category-stuff-that-personally-interests-me-miscellaneous","category-reclaiming-the-family","category-science","tag-grandchildren","tag-reclaiming-the-family","tag-teaching-the-young","tag-traditional-family"],"yoast_head":"\n