Philosophy of Mind

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I noticed something interesting (and hilarious, if you knew him) at the park. I was trying to get my son (almost 3) to use the sidewalk chalk that some other parent had brought. Since he likes shapes (and since I couldn't draw Thomas the Train to save my life), I tried to get him interested by drawing circles, triangles, etc.

Every time I would start, my son would immediately seize the chalk out of my hand and try it himself. He couldn't do it. So I'd pick up a different piece of chalk to do my shapes, and then he'd drop his and grab my new one. It quickly became clear that Clark thought that there was something special about the chalk that I was always holding, that allowed it to create shapes (while his pieces only created squiggles). I.e. it was as if he thought I was maliciously flipping the chalk off every time I handed it to him. I'm not a Luddite or anything, but I do wonder if Clark would have had this reaction had he not been so used to electronic toys that do all sorts of things "on their own."

Also for what it's worth, even if he were happily playing on the slide 10 feet away, if Clark ever caught me drawing again, he came over to veto the operation. A budding Republican?

Comments

  1. Rachael Anne10:25 PM

    I just find it interesting that a 31 year old man is occupying himself with sidewalk chalk even when his preschooler couldn't care less.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bob Murphy10:11 PM

    Heh heh what a sense of humor my wife has! I'm only 26, folks.

    ReplyDelete

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