extra extra! the conclusion… June 13, 2007
Okay, we got it! I asked Bassie once again today about the concept of “Extra Medium”. I started by asking her what “medium” was. Here’s how it went down:
Bassie: Well, like me and Daddy are the medium ages in the family, because we’re in the middle.
Me: So “Medium” means somewhere in the middle?
Bassie; Yeah.
I couldn’t have asked for a better set-up than this.
Me: Ahh…yes, so what’s “Extra Medium” for our family? Because Daddy’s 28 and you’re 5, so there’s a big difference between your ages even though you’re both in the middle.
Bassie: Maybe 27?
Me: Well.. that’s really close to 28.
Bassie: Maybe like 10?
Rachel: Well, let’s see: 10 is 5 years away from you, but 18 years away from Daddy.
Bassie: Oh, 17.
Third time’s the charm.
Me: Yeah, wait, let me think. 17 is 12 years away from you, and 11 years away from Daddy. But actually, more like 11 1/4 away from you and 10 3/4 away from Daddy. Yeah. Nice job.
Bassie is beaming.
that’s pretty cool. by the way, the first draft of my earlier comment was simply: “that’s wrong.” this supports what i’ve always maintained, that constructive criticism depends on the disposition of the criticized, not the mood, manner, or intention of the critic. -MM
Yes, that was a fun discussion of median and once again, Bassie demonstrated the fun of using one’s heavenly gifts of brilliance. However, median and medium are still two different discussion and Bassie simply demonstrated her cognitive comfort with novel applications to previously learned concepts. Oh, Piaget would be so proud and happy to have such a sweet little girl demonstrate both assimilation and accomodation all within one prolonged conversation over different days.
Yeah, well, when Bassie starts a clothing line and has an Extra Medium size, you can boycott it on philosophical grounds.
As always, we appreciate your comments!