0110100110100101011101001011101000101001110101001

A couple weeks ago, my son asked me about binary. And I explained to him about how in our counting system, when we get to 10, we go to double digits, and 100 (10×10) is when we go to three digits… and then I explained about how in binary there is only 1 and 0, and that once you got to 2, that was when it went t0 double digit. Then I counted up to 8 for him, and explained it all out, and he got it (in his words “11 is the new 3”). Then I explained how computers only understood on and off, or 1 and 0. And how programming languages got interpreted to binary. Like, to a computer, what we see as the letter A, it will recognize as a couple of 0s and 1s.

There is about a 5 minute pause in conversation.

Then my child starts up “Mama, letters and numbers are just symbols we use to tell ideas. And lets say there are a bunch of letters in a row. That makes a word which tells us an idea. and a bunch of words together are sentences, that make up an idea. And a bunch of sentences make a paragraph, and that’s an even bigger idea.” And I agreed, and asked if all ideas were the same or not. And he said “No, or we wouldn’t fight.” Then we talked about my dog analogy… that we can both picture dogs, and both be right, but have two different dogs in out heads. eventually he got bored, but he brought it up again with his father later.

Because my kid is bloody fucking BRILLIANT. He is seriously wicked smart, and he gives me joy. He is my Brilliance.

Tags: binary, code, computers, son, brilliance, words, symbols, letters, idea, concept

Expert Advice

I do not have a psychology degree. I do not have a philosophy degree. I don’t even have a 4 year degree. My degree is in Computers and it’s an AAS. It’s a tech degree, which isn’t really a degree, and it’s an associate’s degree, which is the degree people get when they don’t know where to go from there. It’s an awkward degree, a pretend degree, a confused degree. It’s the degree the other degrees don’t talk about because it doesn’t require as much study to acquire. And that doesn’t really make it a degree, right?

Just because higher level degrees take more study to obtain, that does not mean that the more one studies the higher the degree you have.

For instance, my son is addicted to the My Sims wii game. He can tell you every character and when they’re likely to appear in the game. He knows where every essence is and which characters will ask you for them. He knows the personality types associated with every character and every essence, and even which personality types each character doesn’t like. He can even mime the actions the characters make to a tee.

My child is an expert in the field of the My Sims game. He does not have a degree, but what he doesn’t have in letters he has more than made up for in hours staring at the television set, wiimote and nunchuck in hand, ignoring his chores in pursuit of mastering that which has piqued his interest to obsession.

It would be admirable if there weren’t still a giant pile of dirty clothes on his bedroom floor.

The point is, anyone can be an expert, and you don’t need a degree to be one. If my seven year old can do it, you can do it. In fact, it’s possible you are already in expert at something. What have you spent hours of time obsessing over? Video games? Scrap booking? Movies? Maybe you spent enough time obsessing over it that you decided to pay an institution enough money to give you a degree stating that you spent time obsessing over it.

If you did, I will admit to being jealous over it.

Truth is my obsession. I have looked at the concept of truth from a variety of angles. I have studied philosophy, meditated, prayed, analyzed, and blogged. I have gone through therapy, talked to gurus, and taken classes.

I am not an expert. Unlike my son, I cannot tell you about all the nuances of truth or where to find honesty. Truth is not so easily defined. How does one define a concept? When you tell someone you love them, does it mean the same thing to both people? If I say I want justice, will you and I agree to some measurement of how much? Is there a tangible element to freedom that is universal?

Dear Reader.
What is your obsession? What are you an expert in? What is the excuse for the pile of dirty clothes in the middle of your bedroom floor?

Tags: Expert, Truth, psychology, philosophy, education, Brilliance, wii, degree, obsession, laundry

My Brilliance

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

Brilliance: (n) the quality or state of being brilliant.

Brilliant: (adj) 1. very bright, 2. distinguished by unusual mental keenness or alertness.

I call my son My Brillilance. A part of that is because I love wordplay, and he is my son, and the sun in the sky is bright, or brilliant… No! Wait! Don’t walk away! It gets better, I promise.

The main reason I call him My Brilliance is because he is just that. Brilliant. And I don’t just mean the fact that he is a super genius. Though he is. They did standardized testing the other week, and it turns out my second grader has the math and reading apptitude of a jr. high school student.

That’s right; my 7 year old is puberty smart. I never thought I’d get to use the phrase “puberty smart.” No, YER and oxy-Moron…

So this has led to the school scrambling around to further assess him and place him correctly, making us parents fill out paperwork that doesn’t always make sense.

NOTE: The following conversation is a simplified one, paraphrased to better get the meaning and feel across. My so used much bigger words, and his parents aren’t quite as dumb as I make them out to be (or are we?)

(mark if often applies) “your child is very imaginative, and often loses touch with reality”

Me: This doesn’t make sense

Topher (my son’s father): This doesn’t make sense.

Me: That’s what I said.

My Brilliance: It’s a logic trap. One does not have to lead to the other; they are putting two seperate points in that sentance. Since they are not both true, the statement is false.

Me: I knew that.

Topher: Me too.

The intelligence is certainly a part of what makes my son brilliant What really matters is not how smart he is, but who he is as a person.. the make up of his character. My Brilliance is a very thoughtful and playful person. He understands how to tease, he is sympathetic, he owns himself and his actions. He gets the meaning and intent of a situation seemingly by instinct, and he does not use this against people or for himself. Rather, he tries to find the best situation for everyone involved. He is loving and compassionate, and strong in himself.

He is my brightness on a dreary day. He is My Brilliance.

Dear Readers, what is it that brightens your day simply by being what it is?

Tags: sun, son, brilliance, smart, intelligence, logic, school, Topher, character, wordplay