This post was written in collaboration with Daniela Hernandez at Wired Science.
"At least in Star Wars' spaceships, they can walk." I heard an 8-year-old utter that while I attempted to explain the effects of reduced gravity on the International Space Station. Well, the kid had a point, but still, Star Wars is not real. It's science fiction. Yet it was clear which one he and his classmates preferred.
I was surprised. If someone had asked me 20 years ago what was cooler – walking or flying (OK, floating) in space, I would have chosen the latter. I thought this might have been an isolated incident, but on a separate occasion another youngster declared that rockets were not as cool as an X-wing Starfighter.
I love to work with kids and teach them cool stuff about engineering and science. They are much smarter than adults and don't try to manage my expectations. And as the border between science and sci-fi gets thinner, I expected kids to get more excited about real science than about the "imaginary" world of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and R2-D2.
So I am left with an open question: Why might science fiction be winning the race?
Maybe we, as a "smart" society, did not make enough progress just yet. After all, our everyday cars still don't fly and the kids might not be as patient as we are.
Is it a sign that schools and educators – myself included – are not really engaging students in science, technology, engineering and math? Or do kids simply like to imagine the seemingly impossible? (Is this necessarily a bad thing?)
Are stories set in places that defy the laws of physics more interesting than the stories of scientists spending countless nights in the lab? (Are adults secretly thinking the same, but too ashamed to admit it publicly? Come on, be honest!)
When you don't have the answer, the best thing is to ask someone, which is why I'm posing these questions to the GeekDad Community.
I would love to hear your opinions! Please post your comments – and perhaps your kids' – in our GeekDad Forum.
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