Seeing the World with a Sense of Wonder - Parabola Magazine Review

From Parabola Magazine, Fall 2006 Issue. Reviewed by Christian Wertenbaker

This unique book defies categorization, but is essentially about the wonders of both the outer and inner worlds, and the relationship between the two. Peter Kahan has had a long experience as a teacher of science to high school and junior high school students, and this book, based on his experience in teaching, is aimed primarily at older children, and speaks directly to them; it will also be of interest, as the title suggests, to people of all ages, and especially to teachers and parents who wish to introduce their children to the wonders of the scientific exploration of the world. But it is not a standard textbook. It does not restrict itself to any branch of science or, for that matter, to science in general; nor is it comprehensive on any subject. The format consists of a series of observations and experiments that can be done with easily available materials and that illustrate many aspects of the workings of our universe and ourselves. A few examples: An exercise in using negative spaces to draw. A scale model of the solar system, in which if Jupiter was 0.75 centimeters in diameter, it would be at a distance of 39 meters from the sun; the method of calculating the proportions is given, but not the results. A homemade stethoscope for listening to the heart. A homemade monochord, with a discussion of musical ratios.

The organization of the book is unusual, unlike that of standard textbooks. There are four chapters. In the first, "How You Learn about the World," sensation, perception, visualization, inference, and science are discussed. So experiments with air pressure and oxygen consumption by oxidation are found in this chapter, as part of the discussion on the need for indirect evidence in science, immediately after the stethoscope and an experiment on the sense of smell. The second chapter, "The Scale of the World," contains, among many other things, sections on making a map and putting a million dots on the ceiling (on paper); on the composition of the body - from organs to tissues to cells, and so on, down to quarks - and on an experiment on the perception of time.

The third chapter, "Movement and Life from the Atom to the Cosmos," and the fourth, "Wonder and Your Life," are similarly eclectic. So although the organization is quite logical, one loses sight of it in the variety of experiences that are elicited. The book can be read in almost any order, and returned to in any place for another experiment or experience. The lessons of the book penetrate to a deeper place and in a more subtle way than occurs with a standard didactic exposition.

The book is amply and beautifully illustrated, first of all with colorful and interesting border designs created by the author (an interlude in the book describes his method of making them, which thus becomes another activity available to the reader), and also by many photographs, both of details of the experimental apparatuses and of children doing the various experiments. Throughout the emphasis is on seeing the world and oneself in it with a sense of wonder, enhanced by an understanding of the nature of the universe and the laws that govern it. This is a book unlike any other in how it combines scientific teaching, self-examination, and an invitation to ponder the meaning of it all, in a way that is eminently accessible to older children. Were all our early science classes like this!