The Law of Grabbity

[dr_pretentious]

I need to distract myself from the awful news from Connecticut. If I don't exert effort to think about something else, my mind goes right to Newtown. So. Here I am exerting effort to think of something happy.

Conrad struggles to understand scientific explanations that his older brother is just beginning to get. Why do some bath toys sink while others float? Surface tension versus gravity. Why do birds need to flap their wings? Gravity. What is Conrad testing when he throws his cheese cubes on the floor? Gravity.

Most children have difficulty with that V phoneme at age two, so it's not surprising that Conrad has substituted a B, but he makes a grabbing gesture with his hands when he asks me about grabbity. I think he's trying to figure out what's doing all this grabbing.

Comments

[cascade-writers.livejournal.com]

Remember, it's not just a suggestion. It is THE LAW.

[showingup.livejournal.com]

We're calling it that from now on until FOREBER!

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

I wonder whether the concept of grabbity will make it easier or harder for him to understand gravity later on. Gravitational force is sort of like every object that has mass grabbing and pulling on every other object that has mass. But then we're trying to figure out how an inanimate object can have an infinite number of invisible hands. Ah, well.

Speaking of foreber, when will you guys be back on this side of the pond again? Because it's been, like, foreber since we saw you last.

[laradionne.livejournal.com]

Even inanimate objects are made up of molecules (and atoms, and subatomic particles)... just think of how many tiny grabby hands there might be!

[showingup.livejournal.com]

For next Chrimble! We're planning on spending the Yuletide/New Year period with T's parents. T begins his new job in the new year, so we hope he'll be able to take 3 weeks off for us to spend in NJ. It'd be fabulous to see you. We both miss you.

[showingup.livejournal.com]

Hm. Just realised I wasn't 100% clear there. We're planning on coming over NEXT year for Xmas/Yule 2013 into the new year of 2014.