tinkering

This article discusses parents who try to encourage their children to build, create, and experiment with everything from Legos to sticks as an alternative to watching TV, playing video games, etc. The author of the article also emphasizes the growth of this philosophy by bringing up the magazine MAKE, which originally appealed to creative adults but is now popular among teens as well. The author argues that his type of play, labeled "tinkering" is important to development and can lead to more resourceful, innovative adults. The two teenagers mentioned in the article whose parents supported tinkering and discouraged the use of electronics are both very successful- one has an engineering scholarship and will be attending the University of Pittsburgh, and one is a Thiel fellow.

I thought that this article was very interesting. I, myself, did not "tinker" as a child, but my parents greatly discouraged TV-watching, video games, etc. and I think that I am more creative because of it. I think that kids today often spend too much time with electronics, and I do think that it has an effect on their development. I also thought that the connection the author made between tinkering as a child and being innovative and bright later in life was interesting. Coincidentally, I have been reading a lot about the Thiel fellowship lately because I have a friend who won one of the fellowships. Peter Thiel was on 60 Minutes explaining his program, which has faced much criticism, on Sunday.

{via The Wall Street Journal}

Thiel Fellowship Website