Ask Dr. Pretentious

Do the famous scientist finger puppets get to interact with the Hindu deity finger puppets?

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Oh, and I almost forgot...

Sir Isaac Newton came around to my place one day
And his face was sunburned and red;
He said he didn't want to sleep under the shade of a tree
Because an apple might fall on his head.
I said to him, "Sir Isaac, go right back out there,
Go right back out and sleep beneath that tree,
And when that rotten apple falls down on your head,
Why, you'll discover gravity."

-Allan Sherman,
"Good Advice"

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I also have the Hindu god and goddesses finger puppets. They are very good.

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I don't remember if it was when Gareth was a baby or when my son Andrew was a baby before Gareth was born, but I remember being at Sarah and Dan's house and the baby was crying, and I put the Vishnu puppet on my finger and had him sing,

"Hare me,
Hare me,
Me, me,
Hare hare."

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Awesome! Giggling...

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I'd forgotten that moment until just now, so it was probably right after Gareth was born, when I wandered in a haze...well, an even thicker haze than the one I wander in these days. Because you'd think something as funny as that was would be unforgettable.

I have no idea where the deity finger puppets went. Now would be a great time to bring them back into circulation. I'm pretty sure Conrad wouldn't choke on them. Really, though, they'd interface better with a Carl Jung finger puppet than a Sigmund Freud one. Alas, Jung just wasn't odd-looking enough (http://www.google.com/search?q=images+carl+jung&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvnso&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=Yq2kT96ZCOmW6AGYxtCsBA&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CA4Q_AUoAQ&biw=1382&bih=677) to become iconic.

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kistha.livejournal.com

YAY!

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shades-of-nyx.livejournal.com

Just make sure that Ada gets a doll!

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Like Carl Jung, Ada Lovelace has the problem of not being odd-looking enough to become instantly iconic. It looks like some folks are trying to work around the problem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Initiative). If I weren't craft-impaired, I'd definitely try making a finger puppet based on that graphic.

But there's no need to worry about lasting effects of tokenism in this case. Because of the big curly white wig-like hair of the Isaac Newton puppet--very 17th century--Gareth is often confused about Newton's gender. I've tried reminding him that he knows several men with long hair, and lots of women with short hair, but it doesn't seem to help. So we get sentences like, "And then he sat under a apple tree, and a apple fell on her head," with pronoun errors he just doesn't make unless he's genuinely confused about the content of what he's saying. He's four years old, precocious or not, and the only cure for four is time.

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I was thinking there might some good additions to the famous scientist finger puppet collection. Since you live practically in his backyard Thomas Edison comes to mind (with his shakey ethics he could be a great part time villain). Charles Darwin since he could also lecture to the Beanie Baby Academy. For gender balance perhaps Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson or Barbara McClintock. Or you could pick your own favorites.

http://www.famousscientists.org/10-famous-women-scientists/

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/03/10-women-scientists-famous-famous/

Also I am not craft impaired. I definitely think a Beanie Baby couch could be made easily with a glue gun, fabric and cardboard. I'm just not sure where to get the tiny Persian rug.

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There's a company that makes mousepads based on classic oriental carpet designs. This one (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM5934959607P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1) actually has Freud as its product name, because it's as close as miniaturization would allow to the rug on Freud's couch.

Jane Goodall is certainly iconic enough for translation into puppetry. The other scientists in those top ten lists just aren't instantly recognizable that way. I mean, the people at famousscientists.org swapped Rosalind Franklin's photo with Barbara McClintock's, and it's their own list. We all know why Rachel Carson was significant, but do we all know what she looked like?

Emilie du Chatelet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Émilie_du_Châtelet)'s face isn't quite familiar enough to do the job alone, but her fabulous 18th century fashion sense (http://www.google.com/search?q=emilie+du+chatelet&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvnsb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=GN-lT5qJI4n7ggfnmOWoAQ&ved=0CHcQsAQ&biw=1382&bih=677) might carry the day as well for her as the wig does for Isaac Newton. (If only du Chatelet had lived happily ever after.)

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We have an oriental carpet mousepad in a different design but they are a little expensive for just a toy or joke.

I think the argument could be made that some of these women scientists ought to be more recognizable and might be if they got their own finger puppets or other publicity. Jane Goodall ought to be with a Beanie Baby gorilla (or several). Probably others could have some kind of accessory added to give people a clue to why they are famous. I should probably stop this discussion now so I'm not tempted to try and make my own finger puppets.

But this thread did lead to some actual education for the kids. There was a demonstration of dropped bath toys--a rubber duck full of water fell at the same speed as one full of just air. Then David sang about it (see lyrics above).

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I always think it is good idea to explain science concepts to kids starting as young as possible (you can lecture at great length before they are talking). Now, of course, I need to find out where I too can get a set of famous scientist finger puppets. Also, I am glad you are teaching your kids science as well as literature. My kids have a cousin who is about 2 or 3 years older than my oldest. He is obviously a bright kid and reading several grade levels above his age but somehow with 2 English Majors as parents he had not absorbed nearly as much science. I felt strangely compelled to explain concepts in geology and wave action when we all went to the beach. I don't think he held it against me though.

Also, you might need to break it to Gareth that Marie Curie did not live happily ever after due to all the radiation. Do you have a small couch so Freud can analyse the Beanie Babies?

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Sigmund Freud, he had an unfurnished house
And was a very nosy fellow, so it seems.
He had no chairs, so he had all his friends stand around all day
And tell him all their secrets and their dreams,
And as they stood there talking till they got fallen arches,
They said, "My feet are killing me. Ouch!"
I said, "Sigmund, don't you realize, you've got a gold mine here:
Go out and buy yourself a leather couch!"
-Allan Sherman,
"Good Advice"

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That inspired me to spend a silly amount of time looking at photos of Freud's actual office at The Freud Museum (http://www.freud.org.uk/photo-library/category/10046/house-couch-study/)'s site. And then I spent a silly amount of time on Pinterest, pinning my favorites. Still ambivalent about Pinterest. Love that office, though. Hard to resist thinking, If I had a workspace that cool, I'd write books that would revolutionize my civilization, too!

And while I was looking for that, I tripped over this weird article about a painting by Hitler that may have hung in Freud's original Vienna office (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7221058/Adolf-Hitler-painting-may-have-hung-in-Sigmund-Freuds-surgery.html). How weird is that?

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Love this, thanks for sharing! James is in "Why?" mode. When he asked me yesterday why it was getting dark, I started in on our part of the Earth turning away from the sun. I can't wait until one of them asks me why the sky is blue. Eleanor, by the way, said about the science specialist at her school "she knows lots of cool things". Yeah, girl!

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A lot of answers to Gareth's questions begin with, "Remember that Coriolis force model at the Liberty Science Center?" We could just spend all day spinning that thing when we go there. It would be a totally worthwhile way to spend an afternoon, considering how many times we reference it between visits.

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Do you think Sir Isaac Newton is lecturing to the Beanie Baby Royal Academy of Science?

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Yes! Thank you! That must be exactly why the Beanie Babies have assembled to hear the finger puppets speak. Bonus: Gareth will really enjoy crowning a King and Queen of the Beanie Babies, so there can be royals to go with the Royal Academy.

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That was a cool video.

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Isn't that fun? Reminds me of the time L introduced us to The Symphony of Science (http://www.symphonyofscience.com/). Now whenever I hear Neil deGrasse Tyson's voice, my brain fills in a backbeat and starts autotuning him.

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Me too, actually.

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