In Science magazine, Adam Ruben explores what it means to be a scientifically minded parent, from conception onward:
Scientists speak to their children differently than most people, and I'll probably find myself saying one or more of the following:
– "I'll pick you up from school at 3:30 ± 10 minutes."
– "Oh, I see. And if all of your friends rejected the Copernican principle, does that mean you would, too?"
– "I know you like peanut butter, but I don't know if you like peanut butter and jelly, so I packed you one sandwich of each. The peanut-butter-only sandwich is the control group."
– "Don't waste food! There are starving grad students in the world!"
– "If you kids don't quiet down back there, I swear I'll turn this car Ï€ radians."
– "Sorry, I'd love to buy you that video game system, but the funding didn't come through."
Experimental Error: Fetus Don't Fail Me Now
(via /.)
