Comments on: How To Make Your Kid Grow Up Like Me http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/ the blog that is not dansdata.com Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:43:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=1.5.1-alpha by: cas http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1050 Wed, 06 Jun 2007 17:54:41 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1050 the first SF story i can remember reading was Andre Norton's _Catseye_ when i was in grade 3. That pretty much converted me from reading a lot of ghost & supernatural stories to reading mostly science fiction. i still have a soft-spot for Andre Norton's novels (preferably her SF rather than he Witchworld stuff), and tend to collect them when i see them in 2nd-hand bookshops or on ebay or whatever. the first SF story i can remember reading was Andre Norton’s _Catseye_ when i was in grade 3. That pretty much converted me from reading a lot of ghost & supernatural stories to reading mostly science fiction.

i still have a soft-spot for Andre Norton’s novels (preferably her SF rather than he Witchworld stuff), and tend to collect them when i see them in 2nd-hand bookshops or on ebay or whatever.

]]> by: Matt W http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1017 Mon, 21 May 2007 21:04:53 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1017 What ? No votes for Heinlein (before turning into a nazi) or Harrison, AE van Vogt, even CS Lewis had a reasonable stab at the genre. Of course I am geologically old. What ? No votes for Heinlein (before turning into a nazi) or Harrison, AE van Vogt, even CS Lewis had a reasonable stab at the genre.
Of course I am geologically old.

]]> by: Nogami http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1015 Sun, 20 May 2007 05:32:03 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1015 Incidentally, for the Jay Williams fans out there, another book of his that I quite enjoyed was "The Magic Grandfather". I got it as part of a "book of the month club" in elementary school. It was one of the last short novels he wrote before he died, and I really enjoyed it. Incidentally, for the Jay Williams fans out there, another book of his that I quite enjoyed was “The Magic Grandfather”.

I got it as part of a “book of the month club” in elementary school. It was one of the last short novels he wrote before he died, and I really enjoyed it.

]]> by: Nogami http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1014 Sun, 20 May 2007 05:25:36 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1014 Yup, I definitely read the Danny Dunn books when I was a kid. I remember one story in particular where there was a virtual-reality dragonfly that was being developed, and the military wanted it (Danny and the gang had to destroy the info to prevent the Govt from getting ahold of the spying tool). It took 30 years or so, but that kind of technology is available now. I'd like to read the books again (nostalgia). Hopefully they get republished eventually (or scanned). Yup, I definitely read the Danny Dunn books when I was a kid. I remember one story in particular where there was a virtual-reality dragonfly that was being developed, and the military wanted it (Danny and the gang had to destroy the info to prevent the Govt from getting ahold of the spying tool).

It took 30 years or so, but that kind of technology is available now.

I’d like to read the books again (nostalgia). Hopefully they get republished eventually (or scanned).

]]> by: Lord Booga http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1007 Fri, 18 May 2007 18:08:21 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1007 Somewhat disturbingly, mine was Piers Anthonys 'Bio of a Space Tyrant'... the first real series I read anyway. Certainly not what you'd call G-rated material though... Somewhat disturbingly, mine was Piers Anthonys ‘Bio of a Space Tyrant’… the first real series I read anyway. Certainly not what you’d call G-rated material though…

]]> by: Daniel Rutter http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1006 Fri, 18 May 2007 16:47:51 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1006 <i>I have been thinking that your consciousness at least SHOULD indeed actually speed up by this same factor.</i> It depends on how the writer resolves the various practical problems of the shrink ray. As I recall, the Danny Dunn book mentioned a few of these, like for instance the question of whether most of your molecules are being removed by the shrinking machine (in which case many important chemical reactions in your body may now work in horrible new ways) or if your molecules are just being made smaller by it (in which case your tiny-moleculed lungs can no longer get any oxygen out of normal-moleculed air). I have been thinking that your consciousness at least SHOULD indeed actually speed up by this same factor.

It depends on how the writer resolves the various practical problems of the shrink ray.

As I recall, the Danny Dunn book mentioned a few of these, like for instance the question of whether most of your molecules are being removed by the shrinking machine (in which case many important chemical reactions in your body may now work in horrible new ways) or if your molecules are just being made smaller by it (in which case your tiny-moleculed lungs can no longer get any oxygen out of normal-moleculed air).

]]> by: DBT http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1005 Fri, 18 May 2007 16:47:10 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1005 I have similarly vague memories of Dragonfall 5, though I clearly recall the hard faced "No Crap" temperment of the mother. To paraphrase: "Crying is stupid. If you must do it, cry in fromt of a mirror, so you can realise how stupid you are being". Powerful advice for a young introverted analytical type personality. I have similarly vague memories of Dragonfall 5, though I clearly recall the hard faced “No Crap” temperment of the mother. To paraphrase: “Crying is stupid. If you must do it, cry in fromt of a mirror, so you can realise how stupid you are being”. Powerful advice for a young introverted analytical type personality.

]]> by: Joe Bloggs http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1004 Fri, 18 May 2007 14:04:31 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1004 &gt;You suffer no damage, since scaling down makes you tougher in scale terms, but bipedal locomotion is completely out of the question unless your body and consciousness are accelerated by the same factor by which they’ve been shrunk. Actually Dan, I have been thinking that your consciousness at least SHOULD indeed actually speed up by this same factor. Your brain would be shrunk so that all distances between neurons are 1/1000th of what they were, so nerve impulses should reach their destinations 1000 times faster--just like how you can clock a processor with smaller feature size faster. And hey, mosquitos certain seem to have much faster reflexes than us poor humans! >You suffer no damage, since scaling down makes you tougher in scale terms, but bipedal locomotion is completely out of the question unless your body and consciousness are accelerated by the same factor by which they’ve been shrunk.

Actually Dan, I have been thinking that your consciousness at least SHOULD indeed actually speed up by this same factor.

Your brain would be shrunk so that all distances between neurons are 1/1000th of what they were, so nerve impulses should reach their destinations 1000 times faster–just like how you can clock a processor with smaller feature size faster.

And hey, mosquitos certain seem to have much faster reflexes than us poor humans!

]]> by: shimavak http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1003 Fri, 18 May 2007 11:25:25 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1003 erikpurne &amp; m56, I think this might help you get an idea of what Dan meant: Imagine you jump off a structure that is 10 meters tall. After the first second of your jump, you will have fallen about 4.6 meters (you've reached 9.8 m/s (9.8 m/s^2 * 1s), but you started at zero, so your average velocity is 4.6 m/s for 1s =&gt; 4.6 m). Now you are about 2 meters tall, so you've fallen roughly 2 body heights. Agreed? Now imagine that you are suddenly shrunk to 2mm tall, you will still (neglecting air friction) fall 4.6 meters, but now it is more like 2000 body heights. Which means if the time it took you as a normal person to fall the height of your body was .707s (x=at^2 x/2=a*(t^2)/2 =&gt; (x/2)=a*(t/sqrt(2))^2 =&gt; t=1/sqrt(2)=0.707s), your new, tiny, body would take a whole lot less time to fall a distance of one body height, to be precise: 0.014s, Your reaction time would be about 1/50th. It gets much worse the farther you fall, but you hopefully get the idea. The general point is that you'd be expecting to have about a second from when you lift your foot to when you might hit the ground (moment of inertia changes things, but the same ideas will apply), but you'll only have, say, a hundredth of a second. Human reaction time, by comparison, is around 200 milliseconds, or .2 seconds. You would hit the ground before you could react, in essence. Hope that helps! erikpurne & m56,

I think this might help you get an idea of what Dan meant: Imagine you jump off a structure that is 10 meters tall. After the first second of your jump, you will have fallen about 4.6 meters (you’ve reached 9.8 m/s (9.8 m/s^2 * 1s), but you started at zero, so your average velocity is 4.6 m/s for 1s => 4.6 m). Now you are about 2 meters tall, so you’ve fallen roughly 2 body heights. Agreed?

Now imagine that you are suddenly shrunk to 2mm tall, you will still (neglecting air friction) fall 4.6 meters, but now it is more like 2000 body heights. Which means if the time it took you as a normal person to fall the height of your body was .707s (x=at^2 x/2=a*(t^2)/2 => (x/2)=a*(t/sqrt(2))^2 => t=1/sqrt(2)=0.707s), your new, tiny, body would take a whole lot less time to fall a distance of one body height, to be precise: 0.014s, Your reaction time would be about 1/50th. It gets much worse the farther you fall, but you hopefully get the idea.

The general point is that you’d be expecting to have about a second from when you lift your foot to when you might hit the ground (moment of inertia changes things, but the same ideas will apply), but you’ll only have, say, a hundredth of a second. Human reaction time, by comparison, is around 200 milliseconds, or .2 seconds. You would hit the ground before you could react, in essence.

Hope that helps!

]]> by: m56 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1002 Fri, 18 May 2007 10:43:04 +0100 http://dansdata.blogsome.com/2007/05/17/how-to-make-your-kid-grow-up-like-me/#comment-1002 Erikpurne, I didn't necessarily follow that argument either, but perhaps it has to do with the fact that your mass probably _wouldn't_ be scaled down with you (same number of atoms, etc) so the force acting on you would be the same. But if your strength was the same, I don't see why that would be a problem. So color me confused. Dan, What, no Tom Swift books in Australia? The second series (1950's?) is pretty generic (think same generation Hardy Boys books; you guys had those, right? I can't imagine a developed country not subjected to the Hardy Boys.) and not necessarily scientific (he/they tried, I think) but entertaining to a kid, and rather supportive of a science/nerd mentality over jock-ish thought processes, which was nice. Erikpurne,
I didn’t necessarily follow that argument either, but perhaps it has to do with the fact that your mass probably _wouldn’t_ be scaled down with you (same number of atoms, etc) so the force acting on you would be the same. But if your strength was the same, I don’t see why that would be a problem. So color me confused.

Dan,
What, no Tom Swift books in Australia? The second series (1950’s?) is pretty generic (think same generation Hardy Boys books; you guys had those, right? I can’t imagine a developed country not subjected to the Hardy Boys.) and not necessarily scientific (he/they tried, I think) but entertaining to a kid, and rather supportive of a science/nerd mentality over jock-ish thought processes, which was nice.

]]>