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Subject:
Re: Subtle telescope details
From:
David Savory <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informal Science Education Network <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:45:59 -0700
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I'm starting to wonder if this is one of those diagrams like the tongue "taste regions," or the "we only use 10% of our brains" business, frequently stated but wrong in some subtle, fundamental way.

I think the problem is with ray diagrams that are not exactly wrong but are so abstract they create a retrograde confusion: they mess up things previously understood. This is not good. Most kids (most people!) have no clue what the arrows represent, something moving but what, photons? Why aren't there more of them? 

A better way to go is to give kids some lenses, make some observations and try to come to some conclusions. Then proceed with future inquiries and explanations on the basis of their terms and conceptions, not those of an expert physicist.

David Savory
Community Extensions Program Developer and Exhibit Curator
Science World British Columbia
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