Tom Clynes

So extreme parenting means never saying no to your kid?

I guess the recipe for more people like Taylor is comprised of having well off parents who set no limits for their kids. They let him trespass onto private property and steal radioactive materials, for crying out loud.

And he is so nonchalant about the dangers of radiation. Sure, alpha radiation could be stopped by your skin or a piece of paper. But what about all of the radioactive dust and dirt you're breathing in while digging at the mine? Now that emitter is in your body, where that same insignificant alpha radiation is now wreaking unknowable havoc. Radiation safety seemed like such a joke to him at times. Despite the one contamination check mentioned in the book, I really doubt a kid experimenting with radioactive materials managed to completely avoid contaminating his lab, his home, his family and himself.

The author tries to refute the idea that his parents monetary resources and social connections played a major part in Taylor's opportunities. I call major bullshit. He just can't see past the privilege.

I also don't believe the story in the beginning of the book about 9 year old Taylor at the USSRC astounding the docent, the director, historians and experts from across the center. I just don't see that happening and not a single name being recorded. I know some of these big names, and this just doesn't sound realistic. "Hey everybody, quit doing your job and get over here! There's a really smart kid you have to see!"

Also, there should have been some more careful fact checking of the text. Two obvious errors that jumped out at me were; 1. The 2nd and 3rd stages of the Saturn V were NOT solid fueled and 2. The events chronicled in Rocket Boys took place in West Virginia, not Tennessee.

Don't get me wrong, I hope Taylor gets to do amazing things and change the world. He just had a lot of people helping him to get where he is, including the astronaut whose name he couldn't bother to remember. (less)… (altro)

I realized when I was about 3/4 of the way through this book that author Tom Clynes actually had to write this fascinating story for several different audiences. Some readers picked this up to read about the incredible life of Taylor Wilson, some readers were interested in the experiments and discoveries he'd made - those interested in the science and then there are readers like me - interested in the "extreme parenting" that allowed Taylor to follow his dreams and to thrive. As the parent of a very smart child, trying to find a way for a gifted child to succeed within the public school system has been challenging at best.

With all of the audiences that might have an interest in this book - Clynes must have done a huge amount of research. The science that he describes goes far above my head (and I found myself skimming these sections a bit) - but the details of Taylor's family and school life was fascinating. Also - the information he provides on gifted children, the studies done of them and how best to help them learn and interact with the world - was extensive and very interesting.

He also brings up some excellent points regarding our society and how rare it is becoming for children to even get the chance to invent and explore the scientific world.

“The trend away from do-it-yourself science began in the 1980’s, says Bob Parks, author of Makers: All Kinds of People Making Amazing Things in Garages, Basements, and Backyards. As cheap, well-sealed electronic gadgets became easier and cheaper to replace than to repair, interest in building things and taking them apart plummeted.”

“Today you’d be hard-pressed to find a child who is motivated to get under the screen of a smartphone to figure out what makes it light up – and you’d be even hard pressed to find a parent who would encourage it.”

“Those who are motivated to do their own science say that, even as the Internet made it easier to learn how to do things, the hyperfocus on safety and security often made it harder to actually do them.”

“The Porter Chemical Company, maker of the popular Chemcraft labs in a box (each of which had enough liquids, powders, and beakers to conduct more than eight hundred experiments), closed its doors in the 1980s amid liability concerns.”

The story of Taylor Wilson and his life (so far) was so interesting on so many levels. Even imagining what he has accomplished takes one's breath away - even when one leaves out his youth. And as a parent - I kept trying to picture myself in his mother and father's shoes - and saying 'yes' to the things they said yes to - and I just couldn't do it. But for Taylor, and for our world, most likely, it is an excellent thing that they did. They raised a happy, brilliant, potentially game changing person - no mean feat.

Taylor's perspectives on the world, on science, and on his potential future make me want to keep him on my radar as I am sure this is not the last time I will read about him.

“I want to grow a business that allows me to create really useful things. But hopefully I’ll never have to grow up too much,” he says. “Because what makes really good scientists is a healthy disregard for limits and conventions that say you can’t do this or that. I hope I never lose that.”

I hope he never loses that either - and I doubt he will.… (altro)