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Daddy, is it better to be squashed by a brontosaurus, or eaten by a T Rex?

Post 1

sprout

If you lived millions of years ago. I opted for the bronto, as I thought it would be quicker. A agreed, and he informed me that they weighed 30 tonnes? Surely not?

I also have the feeling that a T Tex would be a messy eater - wouldn't want to be half eaten and tossed aside.

This is the first Najoblomo entry - tomorrow, more philosophic...

sprout


Daddy, is it better to be squashed by a brontosaurus, or eaten by a T Rex?

Post 2

Vip

I think I'd concur. *nods sagely*

smiley - fairy


Daddy, is it better to be squashed by a brontosaurus, or eaten by a T Rex?

Post 3

Sol

Yes, a wise choice. Although I suppose that being eaten by a T-Rex is a less futile end, so there is that.


When will there be an end to a progress?

Post 4

sprout

This one startled me. I started with explaining that I hoped there would never be an end to progress, that people would always come up with better ideas, technologies etc. Turned out he meant progress = pollution, more cars etc. Perhaps I've been bringing my work home smiley - blush. So then we discussed the idea of progress being less polluting cars, and so on.

sprout


When will there be an end to a progress?

Post 5

Beatrice

That's a brilliant question - "Why is growth good?" Yes a growing economy is expected - demanded even - but at what cost? Schumacher's Small is Beautiful explored that notion. I was reading it when I was pregnant with my firstborn, and in the book he quoted "The Challenge of Man's Future" by Professor Harrison Brown. Since my surname was Brown at that time, I called my son Harrison, now Harry for short.


When will there be an end to a progress?

Post 6

Lanzababy - Guide Editor

*added to Friends so I can catch these journals* Good luck sprout and so glad to see you taking part smiley - magic

ps l love the questions that children pose, and also their total ability to use logic at times to outwit you. And when that doesn't get what they want they can then use illogical but beautifully constructed other 'reasons'.


Why didn't Darth Vader tell Luke he was his day until after he cut his hand off?

Post 7

sprout

I would be cheating if I didn't give you a Star Wars one - it comes up a lot, as we've been playing Lego Star Wars on the computer (me and both boys...) It's a very funny game, I have to say, and it's nice to see these classics cross the generations.

Anyway, my answer to the question was that it's not practical to break that kind of news while you're fighting someone with a light saber, so they needed a natural pause as it were, and Luke losing his light saber hand seemed to provide that...

Ps, Beatrice - on the progress question, that angle (can we really have infinite growth on a finite word?) is one I ask myself a lot, although no-one is allowed to mention it at work anymore - the idea that we wouldn't all be striving for the maximum of GDP is totally taboo.smiley - sadface

sprout


Will people remember me after I'm gone?

Post 8

sprout

Dad, not day, in the last Star Wars one of course.

I'm not quite sure where the latest one (in the subject) came from. My Father in law is very sick at the moment, so death has been a bit on their minds - (from the four year old - "I don't want to die, even when I'm very old")...

The answer from me to the question in the subject was that he had his whole life ahead of him, and it depends what he did with it! Some people were still remembered thousands of years afterwards, others not so much. Actually, I should have found that Ozymandius poem, come to think of it.

The broader question on how to talk about death is a bit trickier - and not just with kids either!

sprout


Would you prefer to have a plane that is aerodynamic or supersonic?

Post 9

sprout

Someone's learnt some new words! My take on this was that if it was supersonic then it was almost certainly aerodynamic - it's hard to make a plane sized brick go that fast...

sprout


Would you prefer to have a plane that is aerodynamic or supersonic?

Post 10

Beatrice

Easy. The more aerodynamic it is, the more efficient it is, so the less fuel it uses, so saving the world's resources ( see previous questions)

smiley - ok


Would you prefer to have a plane that is aerodynamic or supersonic?

Post 11

Sol

These are really excellent questions. I bet you have a lot of fun answering them.

Interesting, him equating progress with negativity. Sensible boy, that, really.


How do people steal money using a computer?

Post 12

sprout

I have to admit he didn't get an answer to this one. It came just as we were going to get the bus, in between the checking-of-pockets and the-last-mouthful-of-coffee. And by the time we were waiting for his school bus, we'd moved on to something else.

Might have been for the best really - I'm still not quite sure myself...

Bea, Sol thanks for your comments - he would have liked the fuel efficiency answer!

smiley - cheers

sprout


If you were a soldier, would you rather have a pistol or a rifle?

Post 13

sprout

Flippant answer: a pistol, because it's lighter, and because that would make me an officer which is safer and better paid. Furrowed brow from progeny: "But what if you were attacked from a long way away?"

It's a fair point... Hide in a bunker?

sprout


If you were a soldier, would you rather have a pistol or a rifle?

Post 14

Sol

I think I'd go for the rifle - wouldn't that make you a sniper? Reasonably safe, lots of lying down.


Why do people write on buildings?

Post 15

sprout

Re the sniper, the lying down sounds good, but I'd be useless. Friends of mine used to take me hunting rabbits and pigeons with an air rifle, and I never got one. Not even a flesh wound. smiley - erm

For today's question he got the standard adult answer from his mum - form of vandalism, basically. I kept prudently quiet, but I suspect there's more to it than that.

I think there's an element of territorial marking, and for the good ones, an element of artistic expression. Unfortunately, all the graffiti near us is rubbish, so I didn't try to make that point...

sprout


Why do people write on buildings?

Post 16

Beatrice

"tagging" - putting your name to graffiti - always reminds me of dogs spraying and marking their territory.

Some of it is art - can you get youtubage of any of the time-delay photograph sequences that look like people moving across the building? Some of it is self-expression. But most of it is just "because we can"


Are there any animals (apart from the dodo) that have become extinct because of humans?

Post 17

sprout

Err. There must be some - Tasmanian Tiger? Can't think of any actually. Should google it with him...

sprout

ps - on the graffiti, I should really show him a Banksy - despite all the hype, I think they're pretty good.


Are there any animals (apart from the dodo) that have become extinct because of humans?

Post 18

Beatrice

http://www.50birds.com/extan/gextanimals1.htm

Some interesting specimens, certainly!


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