I was brought up with Lincoln logs then Tinker Toys. When I saw Lego blocks I thought "Those are for dumb kids" and kept on tinkering. It's an easy step up to c

I was brought up with Lincoln logs then Tinker Toys. When I saw Lego blocks I thought "Those are for dumb kids" and kept on tinkering. It's an easy step up to chemical models from Tinker Toys. The difference is generational: the ultra-bright and creative Boomers used Tinker Toys and Erector Sets; the comparatively dull bricklaying Lego generations followed in the Boomers' wake. So much had to be changed to suit the latter: - TinkerToys abandoned; Legos promoted. - Cursive writing discarded; printing promoted. - Pen & paper downgraded; typing promoted. - SAT tests downgraded; quotas promoted. - The rise of illiteracy and innumeracy in the USA falls in there someplace.