This is exactly the kind of post that I’m at LW for. I am asked about 20-10,000 questions as day, the majority of which I have to answer “I don’t know” for. (How anyone parented before google is beyond me.) Often I use “I don’t know” as a replacement for “I don’t have the confidence to answer your question adequately[1] in the 15 seconds that I have before you ask another question.”
I understand that conversations with children might seem trivial to most here or that this post was never intended to be used in the context I’ve taken it. Also, it seems that “X” may be a non-rationalist and children usually are. (I think that its very possible that we are all born as rationalists.) So, although I may be beyond hope, my children are not. This post reminds me that along with answering questions I’m not only passing along what I know, I’m passing along my thinking process. I’m also directly transferring all my biases.
So what has come to me after reading this is that it’s far better for me to vocalize the process I’m going thru to find an answer rather than to try to just come up with one. And that my knee-jerk reaction to thinking “I need to answer” is a bias in itself—probably the result of decades of schooling and testing.
1: Often explanations are simplified to the extent that they become misleading or just wrong. eg: any non-local news story or a history textbook.
I sometimes wish there was more parenting stuff on LW (and I suspect there will be in 10 years or so). But, then I think it’s just as well there isn’t as parenting forums are often more contentious than political ones.
This is exactly the kind of post that I’m at LW for. I am asked about 20-10,000 questions as day, the majority of which I have to answer “I don’t know” for. (How anyone parented before google is beyond me.) Often I use “I don’t know” as a replacement for “I don’t have the confidence to answer your question adequately[1] in the 15 seconds that I have before you ask another question.”
I understand that conversations with children might seem trivial to most here or that this post was never intended to be used in the context I’ve taken it. Also, it seems that “X” may be a non-rationalist and children usually are. (I think that its very possible that we are all born as rationalists.) So, although I may be beyond hope, my children are not. This post reminds me that along with answering questions I’m not only passing along what I know, I’m passing along my thinking process. I’m also directly transferring all my biases.
So what has come to me after reading this is that it’s far better for me to vocalize the process I’m going thru to find an answer rather than to try to just come up with one. And that my knee-jerk reaction to thinking “I need to answer” is a bias in itself—probably the result of decades of schooling and testing.
1: Often explanations are simplified to the extent that they become misleading or just wrong. eg: any non-local news story or a history textbook.
If you haven’t already seen it, this might interest you, it’s a pretty cool story. Also, this.
Thanks! Much appreciated.
I sometimes wish there was more parenting stuff on LW (and I suspect there will be in 10 years or so). But, then I think it’s just as well there isn’t as parenting forums are often more contentious than political ones.