Socratic educator Michael Strong with six year old Alana

Good morning, Michael Strong.

How are you?

Good.

Have you been having any interesting adventures or experiences?

Yes, I have. Last night I went to a Monster Jam.

Wow, tell me about it.

So we saw monster trucks. One was racing and then freestyle, and then we also had a two-wheel challenge. Mom?

Cool. So were the trucks really big?

Yeah, they were big.

And tell me about the two-wheel challenge.

So they have to go on at least two wheels, and whoever did the best one won that challenge.

Wow, is it all pretty exciting?

Yeah, it was.

Congratulations. Um, so it's been a little while, but, um, do you remember talking about magic? Remember when we were talking about magic?

Yes, I remember that.

So we were, we were looking at the world of magic in Harry Potter, right?

Yeah.

And then also magic as in like card tricks and making things disappear, like the things magicians do.

Yeah.

And would you— could you remind me what you thought the difference was, or are they the same, the Harry Potter?

I think personally they're a little different.

Okay, explain the difference.

Well, one, we, um, humans have a little different way of doing magic than like, you know, Harry Potter.

Do you— can you explain it? Yeah, so like Um, how about let's talk about what ways are they similar? In what way is human magic similar to Harry Potter magic?

Well, one, um, there can be similar. So, um, one, Harry Potter uses wands, and some of the magicians uses wands too.

How about differences? What's the difference between Harry Potter magic and human magic?

When we have a— humans have a different, a little different kind of magic because like it can do a little different stuff because every world can do a little different stuff.

So you, you think about it as different worlds can do different stuff? So our world can do some kinds of things? Yep. We were talking also about the brooms that fly in Harry Potter in Quidditch. Remember those?

Yeah.

Isn't there— it's a game, right, where they fly around on the brooms?

Yeah, it's a game.

So are those brooms flying similar to airplanes flying in our world?

Not really.

Why not?

Because brooms, I think, are like just brooms. They don't have wings, like, and they have like magic.

So are you saying planes don't have magic?

Well, they do have a kind of magic. They have air and that lifts them up, but I don't— I think air is a type of magic for like lifting things.

How about, how do you think brooms fly without magic? I mean, without wings?

Well, it might be because they have, they probably have magic or momentum.

I see. And what's momentum?

Something like if you're trying to go on the swings, you have to go back. And then you have to let go so that you can go forward and back.

I see, I see. And how about the big trucks last night, the monster trucks? Do you think they had magic at all or no magic?

No magic. They have like engines and then wheels.

Okay, and so if you have engines and wheels, you don't need magic?

Well, I'm saying is that the air in the engines might be a little, kind of a little bit like magic.

The orange engines that gives them so much power?

Yeah.

Do you know what we put in regular cars to give them power?

Mommy, mommy, look! Um, excuse me, I didn't really hear you.

That's okay, Logan was being loud. Um, do you know what we put in regular cars to give them power?

Yeah, pretty much. Yeah.

What do we put in cars to give them power?

Plus gasoline.

And do you have any idea how the gasoline gives cars power?

Because it pushes them.

Do you know how it goes out? Do you know how it pushes them?

There may be like a little tunnel that it goes through and then it comes out the engine.

Okay, it actually explodes. Do you know what an explosion is?

Yes.

So gasoline is very explosive. It's actually very dangerous. And so they have little explosions inside the engines, and then you're right, it kind of pushes like a little funnel called a piston, and that is what gives the car power. Do you think if— because the cars rely on gasoline and explosions, do you think that's magic, or are gasolines and explosions not magic?

Well, gasoline and explosions may be a type of magic, just like not really much like, um, disappearing magic or, um, making things move when the person doesn't want it.

I see. And is it magic that, um, you have energy?

Like energy?

What gives you energy?

Um, the things that you do or eat.

And is that magic?

It may be a kind of magic that we use to feel ourselves.

So is everything magic?

Not currently everything.

So what's an example of something that's not magic?

For once, maybe something that's like A pillow or a couch is not magic.

Okay, and what if the pillow or couch helps you relax? Is that magic?

Um, wait, excuse me.

If the pillow or a couch helps you to relax, is that magic?

Um, not really, but you could say it's like, you know, energized. Making you relax.

Okay. So it's interesting to know why things happen. Do we usually know why things happen or how things happen?

I don't really know about things happening, but it may be something that like you want.

Ow! Ow! He said that the wing and the air cushion and the help it fly, right?

Yeah.

And I explained that gasoline explodes in little tunnels or pistons in the—

Excuse me, I can't really hear you.

I know, Logan is really— you've got a loud little brother. I was saying that explosions in the engine from gasoline help make it go, right?

Yeah. Do you know what science is? Science?

Yep.

Yeah, pretty much like experimenting.

Do you know why we use experiments in science?

To learn what you like want to know.

Do you think we could do experiments on magic?

Yeah, maybe we could.

And then we would find out how magic works?

Yeah, we could do that.

Once we figure out something, how something works, is it still magic?

Um, not all things are magic, but that could be possible.

Suppose we saw a magician doing a card trick and we figured out how he did the card trick. Is it still magic if we know how he did the trick?

Yeah, it's pretty much still magic even if, you know, you don't know how he did the trick.

Is it more interesting if you know how he did the trick or more interesting if you don't know how he did the trick?

It's literally more interesting when you don't know how he did the trick. Why's that? Because, um, like you never know what's gonna happen. You don't know how he's doing that and you're really surprised.

So being surprised is part of it.

Okay.

Well, science is a really big idea. Magic is a really big idea. So, and different worlds are big ideas. We talked about lots of big ideas this time. And I want you to keep thinking about what is science and what is magic and what can we learn about it? And how do we know what we know? Do those seem like things you can think about?

Yeah.

Okay. Well, congratulations on your interesting experience with the monster trucks, and I will let you and Logan have a great day.

Okay.

Bye-bye.

Hopefully see you next week.

Hopefully so.

Okay.

Bye.

Bye.