• Question: Do your family alter your views?

    Asked by collz to David, Helen, Ian, rhysphillips, Sarah on 14 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Rhys Phillips

      Rhys Phillips answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      To a certain extent they do – my Dad is interested in science and we tend to read the same articles written by well established science writers. I doubt I would have heard about these people so soon had it not been for his influence. He reads them because he agrees with their views and I guess I do for the same reason – however I always make my own mind up on something whilst taking into account the opinions of others, including family members, that I think would have a valid opinion on the subject.

    • Photo: Sarah Cook

      Sarah Cook answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      I have 2 small children, my eldest child is 4 years old and forever asking questions that unknown to her are science based. This shows just how integrated science is in our lives. My children are growing up with technologies that didn’t exist when I was a child and no doubt their children will have access to knowledge and technology that we can’t even dream about!
      So in answer to your questions, seeing things through the eyes of children is often the best way to go back to basic fundamentals and gain an understanding of how things work.

    • Photo: David Corne

      David Corne answered on 11 Jun 2011:

      I have lots of arguments with my son (12) about the laws of physics! Every time I want him to do something, such as “sit still”, he says that it goes against the laws of physics. According to him, his brain operates according to those laws, and he can’t help doing what he does. You should try that sometime on your parents. The argument leads to discussing free will, which my son claims he’s got, which kind of contradicts his other point. I’m sure tehse and other discussions alter my views in various ways – they certainly help me think about things more clearly.

    • Photo: Helen Fletcher

      Helen Fletcher answered on 12 Jun 2011:

      Hi collz, as a family if you talk about things (we do) then I think you do alter each others views, even if you don’t notice it happening. When I visit my family in Telford I am often surprised at how differently we think about things. That must be because since leaving home my own family, friends, students and work colleagues have altered my views – even though I hadn’t really noticed it happening!

    • Photo: Ian van der Linde

      Ian van der Linde answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Yes, they definitely do. A conversation with a family member who is not a scientist can make you think about things in a very different way because they ask basic questions about WHY you are doing something or what is can be USED for. When you’re doing a research project, sometimes you get sucked into the details and lose sight of the wider picture!

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