Taking Time to Read

Last weekend we took the kids to the Ontario Science Centre. Like every other time we've visited, there was the inevitable run-in I've come to dread.

This time it was a father and his son who looked to be about five years old. We were at a table with a ramp. There were two discs on the table. One was a solid wood disc and the other was a metal disc with a hollow centre. They had the same circumference, and for those of us who could be bothered to read the large sign, they had the same mass.

The idea was to send them down the ramp together to see which moved faster, and try and figure out why that was. There was an explanation at the bottom of the sign as well.

This man, like so many other parents and kids I've seen there, just guessed what it was about (wrongly) and told his son it was because the metal was heavier. I actually interrupted this time and told them that according to the sign the discs had the same mass. He just said "is that so?" in a rather rude and incredulous tone and continued pulling his son through the exhibit hall.

Maybe he had a reason for his behaviour. Perhaps he was illiterate and really could not read the sign. But surely the majority of the visitors are able to read. So why don't they?

Is it really a wonder so many people blindly accept pseudo-science when they can't even be bothered to read two sentences on a sign? Why do people even bother going there if they aren't willing to take the time to actually look and experience what is on offer? (Are these the same people who get all of their news via television?) And yet, sadly, many people do just that.

Was this man's son not worth the effort to get the facts right? Was the dad just putting in time until the outing was over? Will the son remember the trip, and if so, what will he have gotten out of being rushed from display to display without ever really getting a chance to check any of it out himself?

I have the same gripe when I send out emails. There are people (admittedly not nearly as many) who insist on only reading the first line or sentence in an email. Even when I start out with an opening such as: "I have two questions for you:" certain people will just jump ahead with the first, sometimes not even reading that one thoroughly enough to answer what I've actually asked.

The problem isn't limited to rushed parents either. When my youngest went to junior kindergarten (very briefly!), the teacher would hold up a "big book", and instead of reading it aloud to the kids, she'd play the book tape and turn the pages. When parents and teachers don't bother to read with their kids, should we be surprised when those kids themselves fail to see the value and joy of reading?

Maybe it's just a symptom of a larger problem. We're always rushed--with increasing demands on our time, and advertising everywhere we look that promises quick and convenient solutions, many of us have lost the art of living in the moment. We continually look ahead, but have difficulty clearing our minds enough to concentrate on the immediate.

Today is voting day. I always hope people will read the candidates' platforms thoroughly before casting their vote, but as I grow older, I wonder: since many don't/won't bother to read, perhaps election signs with names alone are sadly just as effective. We've been trained to respond to quick, flashy images to become voracious unquestioning consumers, and it shows.