The first day after Christmas is clearly not a day to go to the mall, and especially not a good day to go to the Natick Mall of all things. I thought it would be very easy to just zip in and zip out and get a tool box that I sorely needed, but the paralyzing gridlock even a mile away from the mall was a sign that I should skip it all together. Foolishly, I ignored this sign and got trapped driving around the mall in frustration. Of course one of the great things about it being after Christmas is that Ruby did not insist on watching "Spongebob's Christmas" for the 25th time this morning. Though I was just starting to get used to it for my morning routine.
Breakfast
kashi go lean
heritage flakes
banana
blueberries
ikea muesli
unsweetened soy milk
coffee
Lunch
Turkey
String Beans
Bubbie's Pickles
Snack
1 Stick Beef Jerky
1 oz. Boston Lite Popcorn
Dinner:
Blue Ribbon BBQ Burnt Ends
Bubbie's Pickles
Grilled Asparagus
As it was, I did do several things I needed to do today, though working out wasn't one of them. I thought this would be a vacation of a lot of work outs, but so far it hasn't really come to pass. I did make my annual pilgrimage to Borders for discount Christmas Music, but their selection was poor and they weren't having a sale (It started a week later-Ed.). So I ended up dropping off Ruby on a play date and then taking a nice hour for myself at Newbury Comics, where I filled up my after-Christmas music stocking with lots of goodies. Amazingly, this has been a totally snow-less holiday so far.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Monday, December 25, 2006
Year 2, Day 297: Christmas
December 23, 2006
Op-Ed Contributor
Do You Believe in Surnits?
By JACQUELINE WOOLLEY
Austin, Tex.
WE delight in our children’s belief in reindeer that can fly and a fat man who fits through chimneys and travels the whole world in a single night. Many children believe fiercely not only in Santa Claus but also in other fantastical beings like the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy from the time they are about 3 until they are 7 or 8.
Their eager belief contributes to the common view, shared by psychologists and other scientists, that young children are credulous (and conversely, that adults are not). Children believe everything they are told, we assume, with little regard for logic, a sense of the real world or any of the other criteria adults use to debunk such fictions as the Loch Ness monster or Sasquatch.
But are children really that different from us? A study that my colleagues and I conducted at the Children’s Research Laboratory at the University of Texas suggests not. We found that, in fact, children use many of the same cues adults use to distinguish fantasy from reality.
Our experiment was designed to investigate how a young child, upon encountering a fantastical being like a unicorn in a storybook, decides whether it is real or imaginary. Adults often make the call based on context. If, for example, we encounter a weird and unfamiliar insect at a science museum, we are more likely to think it is something real than if we find it in a joke store.
To see if children could also use context in this way, we described “surnits” and other made-up things to our study group. To some of the children, we put surnits in a fantastical context: “Ghosts try to catch surnits when they fly around at night.” To others, we characterized them in scientific terms: “Doctors use surnits to help them in the hospital.”
The 4- to 6-year-olds who heard the medical description were much more likely to think surnits were real than children who were told they had something to do with ghosts. The children demonstrated that they do not indiscriminately believe everything they’re told, but use some pretty high-level tools to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
If children are so smart, why do they believe in Santa Claus? My view is that they are exhibiting their very rational and scientific cognitive abilities. The adults they count on to provide reliable information about the world introduce them to Santa. Then his existence is affirmed by friends, books, TV and movies. It is also validated by hard evidence: the half-eaten cookies and empty milk glasses by the tree on Christmas morning.
In other words, children do a great job of scientifically evaluating Santa. And adults do a great job of duping them. As we gradually withdraw our support for the myth, and children piece together the truth, their view of Santa aligns with ours. Perhaps it is this kinship with the adult world that prevents children from feeling anger over having been misled.
So maybe this holiday season, when the children come rushing in to see what Santa brought, we should revel not in their wide-eyed wonder, but in how sophisticated and clever their young minds really are.
Jacqueline Woolley is a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
Breakfast
2 Soft-Boiled Eggs
2 Slices Balthazar Multi-Grain Bread
(1 with Super Chunky Peanut Butter)
3 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
Lunch
Blue Ribbon Burnt Ends & Pulled Chicken
Bubbie's Pickles
Romaine/Cabbage/Feta salad with balsamic vinegar
Movie Snack
Popcorn
Dinner
Turkey
Onions/Celery/Carrots
Broccoli
Green Beans
Again, it was an adventuresome day, as Ruby and I went to see Charlotte's Web and I ventured to cook my own turkey for the VERY FIRST TIME. In all fairness, it was only the double-breast, no drumsticks or anything, it's a pretty scaled down thing. I got it at whole foods and it was about 5 pounds. I got a roasting pan and I sort of winged it. I was a little worried about the whole meat-thermometer, but it came with one (which popped up an hour before the recipe said it would be done) but it all worked out. I had seen on the Food TV Channel show "Unwrapped" where a turkey restaurant said the two key things to cooking your turkey was: cook it upside down for the majority of the time—only turn it over (breast side up) at the end to brown the skin; and two, cook it in less time than is listed. Though I didn't follow these rules closely, I can see where they might make a big difference. Surprisingly, everyone had turkey and liked it. I fortunately did not eat any of the Reese's Bites I got for Ruby at the movies, and when I got home, I wrapped up the chocolate chip cookie dough I had left over, rolled it, and put it in the freezer. Merry Christmas, everybody!
Op-Ed Contributor
Do You Believe in Surnits?
By JACQUELINE WOOLLEY
Austin, Tex.
WE delight in our children’s belief in reindeer that can fly and a fat man who fits through chimneys and travels the whole world in a single night. Many children believe fiercely not only in Santa Claus but also in other fantastical beings like the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy from the time they are about 3 until they are 7 or 8.
Their eager belief contributes to the common view, shared by psychologists and other scientists, that young children are credulous (and conversely, that adults are not). Children believe everything they are told, we assume, with little regard for logic, a sense of the real world or any of the other criteria adults use to debunk such fictions as the Loch Ness monster or Sasquatch.
But are children really that different from us? A study that my colleagues and I conducted at the Children’s Research Laboratory at the University of Texas suggests not. We found that, in fact, children use many of the same cues adults use to distinguish fantasy from reality.
Our experiment was designed to investigate how a young child, upon encountering a fantastical being like a unicorn in a storybook, decides whether it is real or imaginary. Adults often make the call based on context. If, for example, we encounter a weird and unfamiliar insect at a science museum, we are more likely to think it is something real than if we find it in a joke store.
To see if children could also use context in this way, we described “surnits” and other made-up things to our study group. To some of the children, we put surnits in a fantastical context: “Ghosts try to catch surnits when they fly around at night.” To others, we characterized them in scientific terms: “Doctors use surnits to help them in the hospital.”
The 4- to 6-year-olds who heard the medical description were much more likely to think surnits were real than children who were told they had something to do with ghosts. The children demonstrated that they do not indiscriminately believe everything they’re told, but use some pretty high-level tools to distinguish between fantasy and reality.
If children are so smart, why do they believe in Santa Claus? My view is that they are exhibiting their very rational and scientific cognitive abilities. The adults they count on to provide reliable information about the world introduce them to Santa. Then his existence is affirmed by friends, books, TV and movies. It is also validated by hard evidence: the half-eaten cookies and empty milk glasses by the tree on Christmas morning.
In other words, children do a great job of scientifically evaluating Santa. And adults do a great job of duping them. As we gradually withdraw our support for the myth, and children piece together the truth, their view of Santa aligns with ours. Perhaps it is this kinship with the adult world that prevents children from feeling anger over having been misled.
So maybe this holiday season, when the children come rushing in to see what Santa brought, we should revel not in their wide-eyed wonder, but in how sophisticated and clever their young minds really are.
Jacqueline Woolley is a professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company
Breakfast
2 Soft-Boiled Eggs
2 Slices Balthazar Multi-Grain Bread
(1 with Super Chunky Peanut Butter)
3 oz 50% Jalapeno Cheddar
Lunch
Blue Ribbon Burnt Ends & Pulled Chicken
Bubbie's Pickles
Romaine/Cabbage/Feta salad with balsamic vinegar
Movie Snack
Popcorn
Dinner
Turkey
Onions/Celery/Carrots
Broccoli
Green Beans
Again, it was an adventuresome day, as Ruby and I went to see Charlotte's Web and I ventured to cook my own turkey for the VERY FIRST TIME. In all fairness, it was only the double-breast, no drumsticks or anything, it's a pretty scaled down thing. I got it at whole foods and it was about 5 pounds. I got a roasting pan and I sort of winged it. I was a little worried about the whole meat-thermometer, but it came with one (which popped up an hour before the recipe said it would be done) but it all worked out. I had seen on the Food TV Channel show "Unwrapped" where a turkey restaurant said the two key things to cooking your turkey was: cook it upside down for the majority of the time—only turn it over (breast side up) at the end to brown the skin; and two, cook it in less time than is listed. Though I didn't follow these rules closely, I can see where they might make a big difference. Surprisingly, everyone had turkey and liked it. I fortunately did not eat any of the Reese's Bites I got for Ruby at the movies, and when I got home, I wrapped up the chocolate chip cookie dough I had left over, rolled it, and put it in the freezer. Merry Christmas, everybody!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Year 2, Day 296: The Night Before
Today's Sunday Times had at least three articles about Jews who celebrated Christmas. Futher, they had a lot of articles about whether it's OK to lie to your kids about Santa. I find it amazing that we are such deep, nazel-gazing times. Life isn't more complicated then it used to be, it's just there's so much more detail available and so quickly. It seems to me that we continue to deal with the same problems when you can get enough distance to examine it properly.
Breakfast
Kashi Go Lean!
Heritage Flakes
Ikea Muesli
Blueberries
Banana
Unsweetened Soy Milk
Coffee
Snack
2 Sticks Beef Jerky
Almonds & Cashews
Lunch:
Romaine/Cabbage/Red Onion/Chicken/Feta Balsamic Vinegar
Postworkout Snack
6 oz. Plain Yogurt
4 Tablespoons Super Chunky Peanut Butter
Dinner
Steak Tips
Broccoli
Dessert
Two Chocolate Chip Cookies
Had a good workout today, though it was after lunch and that's always more difficult for me. It was a return to the JCC but I didn't notice that the new lighting (they were closed on Friday to install) was any big deal. It was the all-Christmas workout. I listened to mostly collections of Christmas songs that I have collected throughout the years and it was quite nice. Nothing bad on the news and the place was pretty empty. When I returned home I thought Ruby and I would make chocolate chip cookies for Christmas Eve. After fruitlessly searching all morning on the Ineternet, I used the recipe on the Ghiradelli Chocolate Chip bag. Though I didn't find any good recipes, I did learn a few things from the Internet about making chocolate chip cookies. 1) Double the Vanilla. This was an incredible tip, and really made a difference. 2) Subtract a teaspoon of sugar from whatever the recipe calls for. Again, this turned out to be right on the money. 3) Add salt—chocolate loves salt. Again, true true true. One thing I did follow but I'm not sure if it made a difference was " Make sure the pan is room temperature and the cookies are cold." Can't tell if this helped, and not sure how I could have done it any differently. The cookie dough (my personal favorite thing) was absolutely delicious. We all ate chocolate chip cookies and listened to the all-Christmas radio station. Though I felt guilty for a cookie I figured what the hell, it's Christmas Eve and I worked out. So I ate another one.
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