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Unbelievable! Watched with my 4 year old, he was full of questions about why the ocean was turning to nighttime, what satellites are, about going to another pla

Unbelievable! Watched with my 4 year old, he was full of questions about why the ocean was turning to nighttime, what satellites are, about going to another planet, about the earth being so blue and if we “ever even knew that before”. Just wonderful stuff. So excited for the future.

lm28469 1y ago
Take a blanket, drive in an area with minimal light pollution, lay on the ground and watch the sky with your kid(s). I did that with my grandma as a kid and to this day I don't think I've done anything more relaxing and interesting, it's like watching a fire or waves, it never gets old
dvt 1y ago
So awesome, I hope to have kids one day precisely for this reason! One of my fondest memories is my dad quenching my curiosity (with a drawing, to boot!) of how satellite dishes work when I was 6 or 7.
- monero-xmr 1y ago
  My kids learning to ride a bike - the moment you release your hand for the first time and they just go and go. When my son learned checkers, and then when he beat me the first time. When my daughter told her first original joke at a family dinner and everyone died laughing. The moments truly never stop. Every single day they amaze and surprise you, fill you with so much love and joy and appreciation. One time Bill Gates was asked what gave him joy and without missing a beat he said his children. Nothing is greater, nothing gives you more meaning, nothing is more ultimate than the sacrifice and patience and wonder and fulfillment of having children.
  - bombcar 1y ago
    There's a moment of abject horror, fascination, wonder, surprise, and pride when you suddenly recognize yourself in your children; a moment, a word, even just a holding of the head and you're staring into a mirror ...
    - monero-xmr 1y ago
      It is a complete shift in world view. In BC (before children) you lived one way, then in AD (after delivery) you live another. Complete and utter change in priorities, outlook, experience, meaning, fundamental shift that those without children cannot understand
      - doug713705 1y ago
        And people with children cannot understand what it is to live a whole life in full freedom. I'm over 50 years old and I fully love my life as it is and have never regretted my choice of not having children (and never will). Not that my choice is suitable for everybody, but the most common choice is not suitable for everybody either.
        holoduke 1y ago
        I can understand. I have 4 small kids. The amount of freetime us near zero. I can sometimes envy your life
        bombcar 1y ago
        As a fellow manyKid™ enjoyer I know what you mean. Even your "free time" is guided and directed by kids, and when you DO get some time alone with the wife or a good friend, you talk about the kids. It really is a change that's not quite possible to convey with words.
        monero-xmr 1y ago
        Hard disagree, I lived my life without children, the hedonism and lack of responsibility. And you can live this until death. And I didn’t discount such a life in my writing. I stated that having children fundamentally changes you, in a way you will never understand
        TheOtherHobbes 1y ago
        Given State of World, my take on it is there's far more hedonism and irresponsibility in having kids. It's nice they make you happy, but will their lives be happy? The evidence says it's very unlikely. My choice is not to inflict that experience on another sentient being. I'm really not seeing anything at the moment that encourages me to question that.
  - adonese 1y ago
    Thanks for this. We are expecting one in two months (our first), and reading this made me happy.
  - rubzah 1y ago
    Even Steve Jobs, who was by most accounts a pretty cold fish (his many other qualities notwithstanding), said something similar. By memory, he said something like: With your kids, it's as if they carry your heart around outside of your body. Which I found super touching and apt.
    - quadhome 1y ago
      "Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." -- Elizabeth Stone
- whatbutwhy 1y ago
  67
qmr 1y ago
Go directly to steam and download Kerbal Space Program. Thank me later.
- erulabs 1y ago
  Oh I will. My boy just turned 4, so he’s a little young for video games right now. Maybe 5 or 6? But we played spaceships in the park all evening. Looking forward to gaming age for sure!
  - prox 1y ago
    If you live in a good spot, a beginners telescope might be money well spent.
- hdgvhicv 1y ago
  Warning. KSP breaks pretty much all sci fi programs when you wonder why the landing shuttle is flying towards the planet it’s going to.
hliyan 1y ago
This is the same age when I started watching Star Trek (original series). To say it had a profound impact on my interest in science and ethics is an understatement. English wasn't even my first language, but I think I picked up a lot of the themes, and my interest in science, tech and ethical philosophy continues to this day. I actually wrote this bit about introducing children to Star Trek (answer is a bit dated now): https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/6719/what-is-the-recommended-viewing-order-for-young-first-timers-to-watch-star-trek/6747#6747 https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/6719/what-is-the-r...
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
- ffsm8 1y ago
  Dated indeed, as nobody is interested in Star Trek anymore since they've actively ruined the IP. Heck, the person spearheading star Trek vision has gone on public records essentially saying he never liked star Trek and that's why he's gonna make it more like star wars....
  - bamboozled 1y ago
    In hindsight, I don't feel like the lessons in ethics have done wonders for the USA either...
    - hliyan 1y ago
      The "Yangs vs. Comms" episode comes to mind.
  - jfengel 1y ago
    You're talking about the movies, and yeah, that has failed. They're talking about yet another one, and I'm baffled, but we'll see where (if anywhere) it goes. But the Paramount+ stuff is doing pretty well. Strange New Worlds is very popular. So was Lower Decks. The last season of Picard, at least, gave fans a lot of what they had been looking for. They've got a new series coming out, and what little we know is that it has a bang-up cast. (Not that that's sufficient; Discovery did very badly by some very talented actors. But it's a good start.) So Trek: The IP is still going pretty strong. At least as well as Star Wars, which has also been hit-and-miss.
madaxe_again 1y ago
I always ask mine what she’d like to do after school today. “Let’s go to the moon” comes back at least once a week. Sincerely hope to be able to take her, one day.

lm28469 1y ago

Take a blanket, drive in an area with minimal light pollution, lay on the ground and watch the sky with your kid(s). I did that with my grandma as a kid and to this day I don't think I've done anything more relaxing and interesting, it's like watching a fire or waves, it never gets old

dvt 1y ago

So awesome, I hope to have kids one day precisely for this reason! One of my fondest memories is my dad quenching my curiosity (with a drawing, to boot!) of how satellite dishes work when I was 6 or 7.

monero-xmr 1y ago
My kids learning to ride a bike - the moment you release your hand for the first time and they just go and go. When my son learned checkers, and then when he beat me the first time. When my daughter told her first original joke at a family dinner and everyone died laughing. The moments truly never stop. Every single day they amaze and surprise you, fill you with so much love and joy and appreciation. One time Bill Gates was asked what gave him joy and without missing a beat he said his children. Nothing is greater, nothing gives you more meaning, nothing is more ultimate than the sacrifice and patience and wonder and fulfillment of having children.
- bombcar 1y ago
  There's a moment of abject horror, fascination, wonder, surprise, and pride when you suddenly recognize yourself in your children; a moment, a word, even just a holding of the head and you're staring into a mirror ...
  - monero-xmr 1y ago
    It is a complete shift in world view. In BC (before children) you lived one way, then in AD (after delivery) you live another. Complete and utter change in priorities, outlook, experience, meaning, fundamental shift that those without children cannot understand
    - doug713705 1y ago
      And people with children cannot understand what it is to live a whole life in full freedom. I'm over 50 years old and I fully love my life as it is and have never regretted my choice of not having children (and never will). Not that my choice is suitable for everybody, but the most common choice is not suitable for everybody either.
      - holoduke 1y ago
        I can understand. I have 4 small kids. The amount of freetime us near zero. I can sometimes envy your life
        bombcar 1y ago
        As a fellow manyKid™ enjoyer I know what you mean. Even your "free time" is guided and directed by kids, and when you DO get some time alone with the wife or a good friend, you talk about the kids. It really is a change that's not quite possible to convey with words.
      - monero-xmr 1y ago
        Hard disagree, I lived my life without children, the hedonism and lack of responsibility. And you can live this until death. And I didn’t discount such a life in my writing. I stated that having children fundamentally changes you, in a way you will never understand
        TheOtherHobbes 1y ago
        Given State of World, my take on it is there's far more hedonism and irresponsibility in having kids. It's nice they make you happy, but will their lives be happy? The evidence says it's very unlikely. My choice is not to inflict that experience on another sentient being. I'm really not seeing anything at the moment that encourages me to question that.
- adonese 1y ago
  Thanks for this. We are expecting one in two months (our first), and reading this made me happy.
- rubzah 1y ago
  Even Steve Jobs, who was by most accounts a pretty cold fish (his many other qualities notwithstanding), said something similar. By memory, he said something like: With your kids, it's as if they carry your heart around outside of your body. Which I found super touching and apt.
  - quadhome 1y ago
    "Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." -- Elizabeth Stone
whatbutwhy 1y ago
67

qmr 1y ago

Go directly to steam and download Kerbal Space Program. Thank me later.

erulabs 1y ago
Oh I will. My boy just turned 4, so he’s a little young for video games right now. Maybe 5 or 6? But we played spaceships in the park all evening. Looking forward to gaming age for sure!
- prox 1y ago
  If you live in a good spot, a beginners telescope might be money well spent.
hdgvhicv 1y ago
Warning. KSP breaks pretty much all sci fi programs when you wonder why the landing shuttle is flying towards the planet it’s going to.

hliyan 1y ago

This is the same age when I started watching Star Trek (original series). To say it had a profound impact on my interest in science and ethics is an understatement. English wasn't even my first language, but I think I picked up a lot of the themes, and my interest in science, tech and ethical philosophy continues to this day. I actually wrote this bit about introducing children to Star Trek (answer is a bit dated now): https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/6719/what-is-the-recommended-viewing-order-for-young-first-timers-to-watch-star-trek/6747#6747 https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/6719/what-is-the-r...

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
ffsm8 1y ago
Dated indeed, as nobody is interested in Star Trek anymore since they've actively ruined the IP. Heck, the person spearheading star Trek vision has gone on public records essentially saying he never liked star Trek and that's why he's gonna make it more like star wars....
- bamboozled 1y ago
  In hindsight, I don't feel like the lessons in ethics have done wonders for the USA either...
  - hliyan 1y ago
    The "Yangs vs. Comms" episode comes to mind.
- jfengel 1y ago
  You're talking about the movies, and yeah, that has failed. They're talking about yet another one, and I'm baffled, but we'll see where (if anywhere) it goes. But the Paramount+ stuff is doing pretty well. Strange New Worlds is very popular. So was Lower Decks. The last season of Picard, at least, gave fans a lot of what they had been looking for. They've got a new series coming out, and what little we know is that it has a bang-up cast. (Not that that's sufficient; Discovery did very badly by some very talented actors. But it's a good start.) So Trek: The IP is still going pretty strong. At least as well as Star Wars, which has also been hit-and-miss.

madaxe_again 1y ago

I always ask mine what she’d like to do after school today. “Let’s go to the moon” comes back at least once a week. Sincerely hope to be able to take her, one day.