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Falling for Science: Objects in Mind
Passion for objects and love for scientists and students reflect on how objects fired their scientific imaginations.
"This is a book about science, technology, and love,” writes Sherry Turkle. In it, we learn how a love for science can start with a love for an object—a microscope, a modem, a mud pie, a pair of dice, a fishing rod. Objects fire imagination and set young people on a path to a career in science. In this collection, distinguished scientists, engineers, and designers as well as twenty-five years of MIT students describe how objects encountered in childhood became part of the fabric of their scientific selves. In two major essays that frame the collection, Turkle tells a story of inspiration and connection through objects that is often neglected in standard science education and in our preoccupation with the virtual. The senior scientists' essays trace the arc of a the gears of a toy car introduce the chain of cause and effect to artificial intelligence pioneer Seymour Papert; microscopes disclose the mystery of how things work to MIT President and neuroanatomist Susan Hockfield; architect Moshe Safdie describes how his boyhood fascination with steps, terraces, and the wax hexagons of beehives lead him to a life immersed in the complexities of design. The student essays tell stories that echo these plastic eggs in an Easter basket reveal the power of centripetal force; experiments with baking illuminate the geology of planets; LEGO bricks model worlds, carefully engineered and colonized. All of these voices—students and mentors—testify to the power of objects to awaken and inform young scientific minds. This is a truth that is simple, intuitive, and easily overlooked.
"This is a book about science, technology, and love,” writes Sherry Turkle. In it, we learn how a love for science can start with a love for an object—a microscope, a modem, a mud pie, a pair of dice, a fishing rod. Objects fire imagination and set young people on a path to a career in science. In this collection, distinguished scientists, engineers, and designers as well as twenty-five years of MIT students describe how objects encountered in childhood became part of the fabric of their scientific selves. In two major essays that frame the collection, Turkle tells a story of inspiration and connection through objects that is often neglected in standard science education and in our preoccupation with the virtual. The senior scientists' essays trace the arc of a the gears of a toy car introduce the chain of cause and effect to artificial intelligence pioneer Seymour Papert; microscopes disclose the mystery of how things work to MIT President and neuroanatomist Susan Hockfield; architect Moshe Safdie describes how his boyhood fascination with steps, terraces, and the wax hexagons of beehives lead him to a life immersed in the complexities of design. The student essays tell stories that echo these plastic eggs in an Easter basket reveal the power of centripetal force; experiments with baking illuminate the geology of planets; LEGO bricks model worlds, carefully engineered and colonized. All of these voices—students and mentors—testify to the power of objects to awaken and inform young scientific minds. This is a truth that is simple, intuitive, and easily overlooked.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 4, 2008
4 people are currently reading
260 people want to read
About the author
Sherry Turkle
31 books512 followersSherry Turkle is Abby Rockefeller Mauzé Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at MIT and the founder (2001) and current director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. Professor Turkle received a joint doctorate in sociology and personality psychology from Harvard University and is a licensed clinical psychologist.
Professor Turkle writes on the "subjective side" of people's relationships with technology, especially computers. She is an expert on mobile technology, social networking, and sociable robotics. Profiles of Professor Turkle have appeared in such publications as The New York Times, Scientific American, and Wired Magazine. She has been named "woman of the year" by Ms. Magazine and among the "forty under forty" who are changing the nation by Esquire Magazine. She is a featured media commentator on the social and psychological effects of technology for CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, the BBC, and NPR, including appearances on such programs as Nightline, Frontline, 20/20, and The Colbert Report.
Professor Turkle writes on the "subjective side" of people's relationships with technology, especially computers. She is an expert on mobile technology, social networking, and sociable robotics. Profiles of Professor Turkle have appeared in such publications as The New York Times, Scientific American, and Wired Magazine. She has been named "woman of the year" by Ms. Magazine and among the "forty under forty" who are changing the nation by Esquire Magazine. She is a featured media commentator on the social and psychological effects of technology for CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, the BBC, and NPR, including appearances on such programs as Nightline, Frontline, 20/20, and The Colbert Report.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 22, 2019
*Oyun çocukların mesleğidir. Çocuklar farklılıklarını ve bireyselliklerini bulmalarina, kendileri olmalarına yardım edecek oyun nesneleri seçerler. Nesne uğraşı motivasyonla derinden alakalıdır; genç bilimcilerin incelemelerini ateşleyen duygular bu yoğunluktan beslenir. Bu bakış açısı “Çocuklar bilim öğrenmek için hangi nesnelerle oynamalıdır? gibi bir sorudan çok daha farklı bir yere götürür bizi. Bir çocuğu bilime yönelten nesnenin bir Froebel oyuncağı ya da bir elektrik devresi olmasi gerekmez. Belli bir çocuğa hitap eden bir nesne olmasi gerekir.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2016
I enjoyed some of the stories, but I would have liked to see a bit more diversity.
In particular, Alan Kay (vacuums) and Seymour Papert's (gears) stories were captivating. I could identify with some of those describing early personal computer experiences (e.g. the Wizardry game). I appreciated one about ham radio and one about a toy mailbox.
It made me think about my own multi-year obsession (maybe ages 6-9) with experimenting with a (clearly indestructible) slot car power transformer.
In particular, Alan Kay (vacuums) and Seymour Papert's (gears) stories were captivating. I could identify with some of those describing early personal computer experiences (e.g. the Wizardry game). I appreciated one about ham radio and one about a toy mailbox.
It made me think about my own multi-year obsession (maybe ages 6-9) with experimenting with a (clearly indestructible) slot car power transformer.
July 20, 2019
Çocuklarımızı bilime yönlendirmek açısından bir kaynak kitap. Amerika’da 70-80’lerde büyük beyinler yetiştirmesini bu kitapla anlıyoruz.
May 1, 2009
It would be nice to think that those shaping the future of education in the United States would take the time to read and think about what these scientists (and former students, mostly from MIT) have to say about the things that drew them into scientific study. President Obama, Secretary Duncan, Chancellor Klein: listen up.
Not one person mentions how standardized testing and test prep changed his or her life.
Instead, again and again, the word "play" appears...the importance of play, of physical manipulation of objects and materials as the foundation for understanding abstract scientific principles...the importance of discovery, of taking things apart and then trying to put them back together, of being allowed to "fail", of learning from what doesn't work as much as from what does...the importance of non-programmed content to learning, leaning from the bottom up rather than top-down dictation.
Seymour Papert, in his essay, "makes the point that if anyone had tried to test him to determine what was happening as his curiosity was expanding, they would have found nothing to measure...finding nothing to measure does not mean that nothing is going on. Too often, if we can't formulate a test, we give up on a method or we give up on a child."
All the essays are fun to read; "Chocolate Meringue", about how an obsession with cooking lead to a science career, by Selby Cull, is magical. Alan Kay's "Vacuums" is wonderful on the way the best education works: "Miss Quirk...took projects that interested children and integrated real mathematics, science, and art into them. That was her curriculum."
Over and over, Legos are mentioned by these scientists as key components of their childhood play, for their open-ended ability to engage then and help them understand the mathematic and scientific concepts they later encountered in school. Yet one of Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein's first directives when they took over the NYC schools was to remove Legos--and other activities considered non-academic--from classrooms, starting with kindergarten. No playing allowed!
They say they want creative thinkers, scientists and artists to move our nation into the future. But their educational actions say they only want people who can fill in the blanks of what has already been done and said.
Not one person mentions how standardized testing and test prep changed his or her life.
Instead, again and again, the word "play" appears...the importance of play, of physical manipulation of objects and materials as the foundation for understanding abstract scientific principles...the importance of discovery, of taking things apart and then trying to put them back together, of being allowed to "fail", of learning from what doesn't work as much as from what does...the importance of non-programmed content to learning, leaning from the bottom up rather than top-down dictation.
Seymour Papert, in his essay, "makes the point that if anyone had tried to test him to determine what was happening as his curiosity was expanding, they would have found nothing to measure...finding nothing to measure does not mean that nothing is going on. Too often, if we can't formulate a test, we give up on a method or we give up on a child."
All the essays are fun to read; "Chocolate Meringue", about how an obsession with cooking lead to a science career, by Selby Cull, is magical. Alan Kay's "Vacuums" is wonderful on the way the best education works: "Miss Quirk...took projects that interested children and integrated real mathematics, science, and art into them. That was her curriculum."
Over and over, Legos are mentioned by these scientists as key components of their childhood play, for their open-ended ability to engage then and help them understand the mathematic and scientific concepts they later encountered in school. Yet one of Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein's first directives when they took over the NYC schools was to remove Legos--and other activities considered non-academic--from classrooms, starting with kindergarten. No playing allowed!
They say they want creative thinkers, scientists and artists to move our nation into the future. But their educational actions say they only want people who can fill in the blanks of what has already been done and said.
July 1, 2020
the essays are all formatted as follows:
1) identify toy from childhood that was crucial to your intellectual development (OK)
2) try to find a story about this toy (this is where some of the stories feel too academic; in trying to answer the prompt, some of the stories feel a bit puffed up, or like caricatures of memories)
3) relate the toy to your development as a scientist (this is where it felt like some of the authors tried too hard to psychoanalyze themselves, and some of these connections were a bit trite)
The essays themselves are not bad, and given the breadth of things covered it's hard to find one you can't relate to. But with so many, they get repetitive ... several essays about LEGOs, a few more about machine language; scattered throughout you'll see different authors reminisce about reassembling bikes. I did enjoy the essays near the end of the book, where the essays were more fleshed out and thoughtful, reflecting more deeply on entire careers of science.
Sherry Turkle's essays in the start and end summarize nicely the themes and mission statement of the book. I am not walking away particularly astounded by any single essay, but I also don't feel like I wasted my time reading this book - it's decent.
1) identify toy from childhood that was crucial to your intellectual development (OK)
2) try to find a story about this toy (this is where some of the stories feel too academic; in trying to answer the prompt, some of the stories feel a bit puffed up, or like caricatures of memories)
3) relate the toy to your development as a scientist (this is where it felt like some of the authors tried too hard to psychoanalyze themselves, and some of these connections were a bit trite)
The essays themselves are not bad, and given the breadth of things covered it's hard to find one you can't relate to. But with so many, they get repetitive ... several essays about LEGOs, a few more about machine language; scattered throughout you'll see different authors reminisce about reassembling bikes. I did enjoy the essays near the end of the book, where the essays were more fleshed out and thoughtful, reflecting more deeply on entire careers of science.
Sherry Turkle's essays in the start and end summarize nicely the themes and mission statement of the book. I am not walking away particularly astounded by any single essay, but I also don't feel like I wasted my time reading this book - it's decent.
September 17, 2011
While some of these essays were interesting, I had hoped that they would be from a variety of scientists across the world, not just those connected in some way to MIT. I realize this book came about from an assignment given by the editor to her students at MIT, but I wish she had expanded her original idea and put out a call for any scientist to submit their own thoughts on their path to the field they are currently in.
Because this was only MIT people, it felt very elitist to me and it was a turn off. I also didn't care for the editor's extremely long-winded introduction and epilogue and skipped those.
Because this was only MIT people, it felt very elitist to me and it was a turn off. I also didn't care for the editor's extremely long-winded introduction and epilogue and skipped those.
April 3, 2011
this book gives me hope. students write accounts how they, as kids, took ordinary objects and found they had a deep love for science. it makes you want to give your own kid a dozen legos, some mud, and a pair of dice just to see what they'll do with them.
Want to read
August 4, 2011Edited by Sherry Turkle
Excellent collection of stories of how scientists/engineers found their paths to science through objects they were fascinated by in childhood. i sooo relate to this. My object was an old Smith Corona typewriter that I took apart and put back together.
Excellent collection of stories of how scientists/engineers found their paths to science through objects they were fascinated by in childhood. i sooo relate to this. My object was an old Smith Corona typewriter that I took apart and put back together.
August 23, 2008
A great collection of unusual love letters.
January 24, 2013
Interesting snippets of scientists discussing special objects.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews