The Necklace of Technology

"Daddy, what do you think? I like technology so much, that I made a necklace to go with it."

Ian, on the subject of a "necklace" that he made for himself, consisting of two wires connected to circuits and perhaps a battery. Amy wisely bought him an electronic set several months ago, and it has occupied the bulk of his attention ever since. It's one of those circuit boards where you hook circuits to mini-appliances (a lightbulb, a siren-maker, a loud-speaker, an electronic music box, a spinning whirlygig that throws a twirling plastic circle into the air...). We helped him with the first couple of projects, but I think he has made the bulk of them on his own. Unfortunately, Madeleine also loves technology and has been known to walk off with the occasional stolen power button, but Ian has a knack for tracking his components down.

Ian also made a "night light" out of his circuit board set, for use in the boys' bedroom after the lights go out.

It's really very moving to see how much he sincerely loves science and technology. He's clearly not pursuing it to impress the grownups, and when we go to the planetarium/space center, he's right on top of what they present in the shows, and comes away with his own unique ball of considerations and unconventional anxities. For example, he is very interested in black holes, and has drawn/colored several sophisticated and pretty-good-lookin' pictures of black holes. Being Ian, of course he is terrifically concerned about their perceived potential (which scientists apparently have discounted, but he's still worried) to swallow up the entire Milky Way galaxy, including our own neighborhood. In fact, he has had some nightmares about it. He once asked me, "What will we do for light if the sun dies," or something to that effect...

But his ability to tune into technological issues and engage them has actually awoken something in my own very historically right-brained inner life, and it's like I have a colleague in learning about these things. Needless to say, he'll pull ahead of me pretty quickly, but it's really something to get into a phase of life where you're actually sharing intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm with your son - especially when he's only six years old. I didn't know I'd be able to pursue such exciting frontiers with my children so early on. I suppose the whole idea that the intellect doesn't really gel until about 16 or 19 is something of a fallacy.

(July 8, 2010)