Six-year-old self

I was thinking the other day how little my interests have changed from my six-year-old self.  I loved science, astronomy, and magic.  I still remember my magic set, and all the tricks I knew and showed off to my family.  I remember wishing there were more shows like Mr. Wizard World and 3-2-1 Contact on TV.  I loved those shows, but they never seemed to be on enough.  One summer my Mom bought me a Peanuts science book set.  I think there were 20 or 25 volumes, each on a different science topic.  That summer I read them all, and learned a lot of science from Snoopy and Charlie Brown.  To this day I remember facts from those books.  You know how the first bright star of the night is usually a planet, and probably Venus?  Yeah, Charlie Brown taught me that when I was 6.  My Mom still has those books.  I need to get those from her.  If we ever have kids, I would love for them to read them.

I also always remember being a critical thinker as a kid.  I don’t ever remember believing in Santa Claus.  I probably did when I was real little, but when I got a little older I just played along with it.  Just the logistics of going to every house seemed impossible to me.  Yet alone a fat man fitting down a chimney and having elves build brand named products.  But the clincher was using the same wrapping paper as my parents, and using my Mom’s handwriting.  I just played along though because I wanted the presents.

I applied the same thinking about Santa Claus to God.  My Mom brought me to church every Sunday, but I don’t ever remember believing in God.  I pretty much thought it was a grown ups Santa Claus, and wondered if these otherwise smart people really believed in God.  Once again I just played along.  This time not for presents, but just to please my Mom.  I kept going to church every Sunday even though I hated it.  I even bullshitted my way through and got confirmed.  To this day my parents don’t know of my true religious beliefs.

I have been a skeptic long before I knew what a skeptic was, or new about the community.  When I first listened to the Skepticality podcast.  I feel in love with it.  Finally I met people of similar interests.  I started listening to as many skeptic and science podcasts as I could find.  No longer was science programing hard to find like it was when I was six.  There are more science blogs and podcasts than any person could ever consume.

I was also surprised how much my love of magic had to do with skepticism.  Many magicians are skeptics going all the way back to Houdini, who set out to expose all the frauds purporting supernatural phenomena.  Nowadays James Randi, and Penn & Teller are following in the footsteps of Houdini.  Many other magicians are skeptics too.  I don’t know if David Copperfield is though, but seeing his show, and actually getting on stage with him a few years back was a dream come true.  When it come to magic shows, I am still a six-year-old at heart, and never miss the opportunity to see a magic show.

As I get older it still amazes me how much I remember being six, and how little I have changed.  I am still critically thinking, still reading about science, and still love learning new magic tricks.