Small Talk/Big Talk
This site is meant to be a kind of "Dear Ann Landers" meets "Car Talk" only without the true expert involvement (at least by David and Athena who are running this site) – a place where people can ask for advice/input on anything that wasn't already easily researchable online (like random facts). Just as when writing Ann Landers or calling “Car Talk”, you realize you might get through and get a response, but you might not, the same applies here, but either way, anyone from online can also field your question and not just your virtual hosts David Dalrymple and Athena Dalrymple.
No topic is too big or too small. However, understand that the answers might be considered too big or too small, but hopefully helpful whatever the size. Athena and David have often been asked by people to write a book about their lives (Athena’s isn’t nearly as interesting as David’s, as you will realize by the bios) and asked questions by lots of people on lots of topics, so we figured we would give the world community a chance to ask questions now. Prior to David turning 18, there were concerns over having a minor in the media and rather few interviews were granted, but being that David still wants to answer questions and is now an adult, he now has a forum to do so.
Hi, I posted a question a few months ago and now I have a follow up. Our son has been applying to Ph.D. programs in computational neuroscience, which he will enter at age 16. I have two questions. First, how does it work with financial aid? He spoke with the grad program at his current school and they said as soon as...
more As I sit watching it snow today, I am wondering what the reason is that our area often will have periods of rain for over a week, but it's rare for us to have snow for more than two days in a row. Anyone know? Also, occasionally there will be lightning and thunder in a snow storm (it's predicted here for tonight), but ...
more I'm pretty sure my son is gifted, though I don't think radically so-although it's really early to tell all this and I've been trying to find advice, information about baby giftedness, particularly psychometric. My son is 6 mon. 3 weeks now and I first started doing gifted researched when, among other things, he pulled ...
more Nobody has posted here in nearly two months, but so people know, we will still know whenever someone posts here and will respond, so don't think if you post here, your question will never be seen by us.
With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, is there anything that either of you would do differently in regards to schooling and acceleration?
Where do you see David in ten years regarding career/relationships/goals? Where does David see himself in ten years?
Hi Athena, I came to know about this site through the mailing list, and thought I'd join :-) I'm a programmer too - a struggling one. I read about your son and it is interesting to know that he's into computers also. One of my friend is also a programmer and her husband is a embedded systems programmer and they have a ...
more Hello, Our son started college at age 11 and will graduate this year from UC Berkeley with a degree in Cognitive Science (he will be 16). He has a high GPA, is doing some great research at UC Berkeley making MATLAB programs that work the way the brain does, which he will publish, and he will also have great...
more I saw your reference to this forum on another site and thought I'd give it a shot. My wife is struggling with homeschooling for the first time. We had to pull our DD6 out of public school due to their lack of help or concern about our daughter being exceptionally bright. Her main areas of exceptionality are her verbal ...
more I tie dyed a shirt and when rinsing it just now, noticed that while the shirt got dyed, the white Hanes label is still white, so clearly not cotton. What are the Hanes *labels* made out of that they don't absorb dye?
What is the reason that no young children have unibrows, but as people age, plenty of adults have them (unless the pluck)?
We have a question for you, one that will appeal to all the deep thinkers out there. Why are so many Chinese restaurants called "The Mayflower?"
What advice would give to a young student(15)living on a college campus for the first time?
Just as radio hosts fill space when need be, I guess I'll try to fill some being that we have no questions yet today. So my thought of the day is: Short cuts are okay so long as you make the cut and nobody gets hurt. So often people take short cuts that don't cut it, like by using another person's term paper as one's...
more Not too tough she told me... hmmmm... OK... here it goes... Dear Athena and David... A popular theory that is gaining more attention recently is the Power of Attraction... using the energy of the Universe to gain whatever it is that one wishes. My thoughts on this theory are a bit less supernatural... and much more...
more Dearest Athena and David, Do either of you happen to know the answer to the age old question - which came first, the chicken or the egg? :-)
Hello Athena & David! How can we improve this forum?
You can now follow David and Athena on Twitter with the username "small_big". New messages on this board will automatically be tweeted.
David Dalrymple is able to provide a young adult perspective. He is an 18-year-old in his fourth year of graduate study at the Center for Bits and Atoms working on his Ph.D. in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT’s Media Lab. He earned his Master of Science in Media Technology from MIT in June 2008 and his bachelor’s...
more We are not charging anyone for our input and by reading any farther, you are agreeing to not hold the Dalrymples and all other posters liable for whatever happens as a result of your reading comments on this site. David Dalrymple is not a medical doctor or any other kind of doctor yet and Athena Dalrymple is not a licensed counselor. The advice found here is merely advice as from virtual (or real life) friends. Civility is expected – no foul language or intentionally being cruel.