Through the Looking Glass

Quantum Physics for Second Graders

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There are big things and small things in our world, and they work in different ways. In the Big World are all the things that you can see around you, so these are the things we learn about first. Even as a baby, you begin to notice that some things are big and heavy and you have to try harder to push or lift them. You learn that if you are holding something up and let go, it will fall to the floor. We all grow up seeing and learning these things; we begin to think that everything is logical and natural and that we understand how things work in our world. These Big World observations are part of what scientists call “Newtonian Physics.”

However, there is also the Small World, which has things that are too small for us to see.

Through the Looking Glass

How Are You?

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An upcoming doctor’s appointment had me wondering how I was going to answer the Dreaded Question of “How are you?” A response of “Fine, thanks, how are you?” was probably not going to be sufficient.

Through the Looking Glass

Print Me a House

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The use of 3D printing in manufacturing has quietly slipped into our culture and become widespread in its usage, especially in medical, automotive, aerospace, and consumer products. Lately it is beginning to be used more in the construction of buildings and bridges.

Through the Looking Glass

Russian Math

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My grandchildren are taking Russian math. This was quite a surprise to me because, in my innocence, I had always believed that math would be the same in any country. It turned out that by “Russian math” people meant math taught the way that Russians teach it. Russian math assumes that children’s ability to think and reason is not innate but can be developed, and mathematics is the best tool for developing it. Students are taught to look beyond the numbers of a problem to the abstract relationships among them.

Through the Looking Glass

Whittaker’s Witness

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My husband and I were discussing the latest political positions taken by Alan Dershowitz, a liberal law professor whose critiques of our current president have sometimes been positive and sometimes negative.

Through the Looking Glass

She Did It Her Way

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Paige’s husband called not long ago looking for anecdotes about her high school years that he could use in her eulogy. I wasn’t much help even though she and I were very close during high school. Her career in adventurous social activities blossomed more in college. In high school we used to take long walks which we called Braeburning because we would wind up at an elementary school called Braeburn, where we’d sit on the swings and chat. On one of these walks we decided that we would not speak any English; unfortunately Paige was taking German and I was taking Spanish, so communication was challenging.

Through the Looking Glass

Attitude is Everything When It Comes to Teaching

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My favorite teacher, Dr. Sylvan Barnet, died recently. I was glad that I’d finally emailed him and told him of my visit to the New York University’s English department. A friend and I had stopped in to visit our friend Paige who was employed there as a secretary. Paige sat us down and put us to work stuffing envelopes for a mailing, and as we were stuffing and chatting, the head of the English Department emerged from his office. He asked us where we had gone to school and when I said “Tufts,” he asked if I’d ever met Sylvan Barnet there.

Through the Looking Glass

Managing Those Annoying Passwords

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Not long ago television news reported on high school students who had invented a password storage device and were setting up a business to sell it. The device stored passwords and allowed the user to access them by displaying a fingerprint. The whole password situation is very annoying. It is often tempting to decide against visiting a site or doing anything on it, simply to avoid adding yet another password to your collection. Many people use the same password over and over, a practice the experts strongly disparage.