Challenging us to write a rationalist storybook for kids. I think I love that idea… we need more like this.
Somewhat related: I consider the movie How to Train your Dragon to be a good story about science. The main character creates a prosthetic dragon tail using a series of experiments (including a “wind tunnel” of sorts), which breaks the process down into steps that kids can follow and make predictions about, rather than “black box mad science” that is typically featured by “smart” protagonists.
Also, he figures out using observation that everything his society believes is wrong, although that’s a more common kid-flick trait.
I’d enjoy it if, in a similar movie, the protagonist figured out that everything his society believes is wrong—but then almost all of the errors turned out to be unexploitable, because they were adaptive in some way. You know, like in real life. If media like that became popular, it might avert some cynical teenage angst.
Yeah. One of the few things I disliked about the movie was that the cause of the centuries-old-conflict between humans and dragons turned out to be one big huge evil dragon, whom everyone rallied together and killed, and then everyone became friends.
Somewhat related: I consider the movie How to Train your Dragon to be a good story about science. The main character creates a prosthetic dragon tail using a series of experiments (including a “wind tunnel” of sorts), which breaks the process down into steps that kids can follow and make predictions about, rather than “black box mad science” that is typically featured by “smart” protagonists.
Also, he figures out using observation that everything his society believes is wrong, although that’s a more common kid-flick trait.
I’d enjoy it if, in a similar movie, the protagonist figured out that everything his society believes is wrong—but then almost all of the errors turned out to be unexploitable, because they were adaptive in some way. You know, like in real life. If media like that became popular, it might avert some cynical teenage angst.
Yeah. One of the few things I disliked about the movie was that the cause of the centuries-old-conflict between humans and dragons turned out to be one big huge evil dragon, whom everyone rallied together and killed, and then everyone became friends.