Professor Brian Keating
4 min readNov 27, 2023

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He’s got the whole Moon in his hands!

Message

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’m writing this on “Black Friday’’, a sacred holiday in the USA where people make impulse purchases based on the prices seeming reasonable, when in reality, many retailers simply coverup the price tags with temporary Black Friday “specials”…at the same exact price!

Well, I just had my eyes opened thanks to a purchase made last Black Friday: a pre-teen [my son] astounded his experimental physicist father [your humble correspondent] by assembling a Chinese-made 3D printer in about 45 minutes — a task that the father had postponed, assuming it’s complexity, for a year! Not only did the child put together the printer, but he also successfully printed a rocket and a moon globe, demonstrating serious skills in both 3 and 4 dimensions. Why do we underestimate our children’s capabilities?

The research underscores this observation. A study by the University of Washington indicates that children’s technical skills and problem-solving abilities are often underappreciated. By the age of 10, many children show proficiency in using complex gadgets, and their digital literacy is usually higher than adults anticipate and may be superior to their parents’ capability.

Such instances beg the question: Are we, as parents and educators, failing to challenge our children sufficiently? It’s essential to recognize and nurture their abilities early. Simple tasks like managing a budget for their allowances, planning and cooking a basic meal, or organizing and executing a small household project can greatly enhance their problem-solving skills and confidence.

Moreover, engaging children in age-appropriate technical tasks, such as basic coding exercises or robotics kits, can further their interest in STEM fields. The key lies in not underestimating their potential and providing opportunities that challenge their intellect and creativity.

Speaking of Black Friday, treat yourself to some killer deals on software from our friends at AppSumo…just click here!

Until next week,

Brian

Appearance

Check out my appearance on the Royal Institution’s YouTube shorts channel, which nearly 5.6 MILLION VIEWS!

How to become more stealthy with polarization!

Genius

“If we continually run into a brick wall trying to answer fundamental questions in a single universe framework, and we can answer those problems in a multiverse framework, we should at least allow that to be part of our toolkit. We should allow it to be among the ideas we take seriously and pursue mathematically.”

- Brian Greene

Get the episode here!

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Conversation

Bonus for your eyes only!

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO FOR EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

At the end of my conversation with Brian Greene, we did a 15-minute Q&A session that will only be available for email subscribers

You can also watch the full interview here, where we discuss whether it is still possible to make a case for string theory. And whether we should treat the multiverse as a serious idea and explore it mathematically.

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Copyright © 2023 Brian Keating , All rights reserved.

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Professor Brian Keating

Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor at UC San Diego. Host of The INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE Podcast Authored: Losing the Nobel Prize & Think like a Nobel Prize Winner