A Young and Curious Character – 5-12-2013
Copyright: Paul E. Bolduc
Who is Ms. Kiera Wilmot, and why does she matter?
Certainly, this question coming out of the clear blue sky is not keeping most of us awake at night, tossing
and turning in our cozy beds. Kiera got into trouble with the authorities at her Polk County High School in Florida a few weeks ago, and the incident resounded on the Internet throughout the land.
Today, she is being treated as an accused criminal for an official firearms violation in the classroom. Included in an addendum below, the reader can learn the sketchy details of this unusual situation. Established rules and regulations do not encourage anyone in our society to try something new, to experiment, or to go to the exploring side.
Beyond Socially Acceptable Ignorance
Actually, Kiera Wilmot’s self-generated interest in learning about the wonderful world of discovery and science is one that I personally respect and admire. If no one among us ever asked why our world works as it does, then ignorance would be the stultifying reality of our lives. We would all be dumb as fence posts with few challenging projects to undertake.
Dangerous new feats would be out of the question. But, somehow, the human spirit rejects staying in a constant and vulnerable state of acceptable ignorance. We seem to have a need to learn.
Lascaux – Early Attempts at Learning
Even under very restrictive conditions, our forefathers, who once lived in natural caverns and raised families of our early, primitive cousins, must have encountered tough challenges in their surroundings.
Along this line of thinking, it was in the late 1940s that archeologists discovered examples of these primitive cultures whose members lived about 35,000 years ago in the region of Lascaux in southwestern France. Other finds place the Neanderthal species in Belgium and Germany. See: Neanderthal.
But, what might have constituted the cherished ideals for the “good life” in the minds of these simple cave dwellers?
Without any special efforts to understand their world and improve on their living conditions, our Cro-Magnon and Neanderthal ancestors might have concluded that they had already reached the
“best of all possible worlds”.
They had tamed fire, created new tools, found ways to clothe themselves in animal furs and had developed a system of near-cozy cave dwellings that were the envy of less creative aboriginal tribes in the region. What more could anyone living in Southwestern France at the time possibly need?
Enter now the home-grown scientist of the region
Clearly, this was not the case for all individuals in the group, however. Usually in any group, there are those “odd balls”, who often want to see over the next ridge. Fossil evidence related to stoneware, arrowheads, pigmentation, types of needles made from animal bones and more, all indicate that caveman tests often lead to new, improved and creative artifacts for the household.
But why is a Santa Monica Beach teenager, today, able to enjoy a far richer life than one of our hairy humanoids from many years ago?
The Wonderfully Curious Neo-Cortex and Discovery
There may be no unique answer, but I suspect that experimentation in the arts and sciences, in literature and music, in architecture, engineering and in medicine all contributed to the formation of our present mental capabilities and far-reaching interests. But, human progress took generations to show observable results.
However, how is this brief review of human history related to Kiera’s school experiments and to my life-long interest in social and scientific discovery?
All Roads lead to Science and Research
Naturally, I can only comment on Kiera’s efforts but in my case, simple machines like the wedge, the pulley, the lever, the screw, etc. and Mr. Wizard on TV made my entry into science and mathematics much easier.
Also, years of repairing my own vintage, Schwinn bicycle from the 1940s and also my 35-pound-bow used in archery were practical reasons to become acquainted with household tools.
When I was attending a Massachusetts parochial high school (Saint Joseph Boys School) in the mid-1950s, mathematics, chemistry and physics interested me a great deal. The Marist Brothers, originally from Lyons, France, provided all the educational instruction.
This was the time of the space race with the Russians. Sputnik was flying aloft and beep, beep signals were coming back to Earth. Maybe, men and women would not be earthbound forever if launch vehicles were more powerful?
That was an exciting possibility, and MIT was only 25 miles away in Cambridge! Naturally, I wanted to become involved in this new world of science so I delved into algebra, trigonometry and geometry with hope and enthusiasm.
Tools of the Science Trade
During my spare time, I found an elegant proof that the square root of 2 is not a rational number, i.e., it cannot be expressed as the ratio of two whole numbers. This clever and insightful approach, which is used often in science, called “reductio ad absurdum” or “proof by contradiction“ really delighted me.
Also, I designed a crude surveyor’s instrument for measuring distances on a flat surface like a cobblestone city street – rather flat, anyway – using trigonometry’s basic laws of the cosines.
Later, a friend, George Bourbeau, and I worked together on constructing an amateur mini-rocket filled with a liquid propellant – wood alcohol – in our case. Next, we had to find a way to inject this liquid under controlled pressure to a properly designed combustion and exhaust chamber.
The aerodynamics are very complicated and mathematically complex, but we spent a frustrating amount of time on theory anyway. Why is integral calculus so difficult?
Gunpowder as a Propellant?
The lack of any immediate measurable results led us to try our hand at making gunpowder as a propellant, instead. We tried several approaches – the public
library gave us the needed clues – but, finally our experiments proved to be a futile exercise. Being discouraged by simple facts of Nature can take the steam out of any experimenter’s zeal.
Hope springs eternal in the Hearts of the Few
Home science projects can be frustrating as we reluctantly concluded. Also, for safety’s sake, we worked only with small quantities of possibly hazardous materials and conducted our tests in large, open fields. The granite filled “mountain region” on Dana Street near the Hildreth Street historical cemetery (General Butler’s remains are housed there) was our workspace.
There were no accidents to report, but only hard-won conclusions to take home. One can expect to suffer many self-inflicted cuts and bruises in this research business, but we happily nursed them away. However, it is true that a test can be filled with possible danger, so caution needs to be the watchword.
Experiment with Due Caution
I do not know the conditions under which Kiera performed her chemical trials, but I would be the first to encourage her to continue her pursuit of knowledge with an eye on safety through well-planned experimentation and a First Aid kit at the ready.
In passing, I am tempted to say that one can, philosophically, look upon life as a sequential series of tests and experiments. Some prove useful, others not, but it is in the doing that we learn and grow.
Summary
In summary, it has been over 50 years since my first steps in trying to understand Nature through probing the physical world. Indeed, it is a pleasure for me, today, to thank a wonderful cast of dedicated elementary and high school teachers plus later, professors, engineers, chemists, physicists, mathematicians and other researchers whose professional contributions have made my own life and career as a researcher possible and intriguing, too.
Finally, I wish to include the following comment to Kiera Wilmot. I truly hope you do not let others discourage you from learning about our natural world that is filled with discovery, wonder and joy.
Remember that there are many, ignorant, Na-Sayers out there, who are ready to squash any pursuit of truth and knowledge.
Also, there is so much to know and enjoy in our natural world.
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Addendum – Kiera Wilmot’s Story
Target: Polk County School District, Florida
Sponsored by: Lynn Hamilton
Like all young women, sixteen-year old Kiera Wilmot was curious. Like all
teenagers in America, she was taught to think creatively. So why has she been
permanently expelled from Bartow High School and facing felony charges for conducting an impromptu science experiment?
Wilmot was curious about how two common household products — toilet bowl
cleaner and aluminum foil — would react, so she mixed them together in a water bottle. To her surprise and everyone else’s, these seemingly harmless, grocery store items caused a small explosion. However, no one was hurt and no school property was damaged.
Certainly, Wilmot made a mistake. But the penalty her school has imposed is far too harsh. She is currently facing the felony charges of discharging a weapon and will have to stand trial as an adult. Additionally, she has been permanently expelled from her high school.
Please ask Polk County School District to drop the felony charges against this
student and let her return to high school… more
Reference: http://www.care2.com/