Sherry Turkle is a professor of the social studies of science and technology at MIT. Turkle thinks that when you get your first microscope, or your first set of Legos or take apart your first broken radio, you become an explorer. She says that for some kids, the thrill of touching, fastening, examining, rebuilding and unbuilding is life-changing, mind-changing and never goes away.
She recently published a book, Falling for Science: Objects in Mind
, which collects essays written by senior scientists (artificial intelligence pioneer Seymour Papert, MIT president and neuroanatomist Susan Hockfield and architect Moshe Safdie, for example) and by students who passed through her classes at MIT over the last 25 years. They were all asked the same question: “Was there an object you met during childhood or adolescence that had an influence on your path into science?”
Click here for the full piece on NPR to hear the story of a little girl (now a computer scientist) and her Easter basket.
Architects as scientists?
“. . . essays written by senior scientists [such as] architect Moshe Safdie.” Hmmm. I have always thought of architects as artists, more humanities majors than science majors. Likely some engineering background, but while engineering is very technical, is it a science? On the other hand, the original Greek root for “techno-” meant “art” or “skill,” so “technique” and “technical” are related. Perhaps more so today than in the recent past?
Library science
How about library science?
“Library science” isn’t a
“Library science” isn’t a real science.
According to the dictionary it is a science
1)
a)The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.
b) Such activities restricted to a class of natural phenomena.
c)Such activities applied to an object of inquiry or study.
2) Methodological activity, discipline, or study
3) An activity that appears to require study and method
4) Knowledge, especially that gained through experience.