Geekness

Just as Jordan is developing her artisitc, expressive side, Evan is developing his vast knowledge of all sorts of information. It started with distinguishing between Chinooks and Apaches and then the various types of Volkswagon cars. That progressed to identifying cars by their badges. Now, his knowledge in some ways is very specific, countries, flags that sort of them but at the same time, also very random.

The randomness comes from the stuff he picks up from watching television.

For the record, I hate that they watch so much television and they watch full length movies. But I can't help it. Packrat, on the weekends, has them alone and rather than chase 3 kids round the house, he watches movies with them. He makes it an entire experience, popping corn with them and cuddling up to them on the couch. It is his love and it is him sharing his love with the children.

No doubt it makes them bug eyed but it really isn't something I can fight so I just go with it.

Plus I see how much language they've picked up from it, albeit in strange American and British accents. Jordan's previous description of the Big Bad Mouse complete with the British accent was from the BBC animation. Evan however, has acquired very boy knowledge.

His favourite movie at this time is How to Train a Dragon. In it, there are different dragons that do different things and are lethal in different ways. The boy is able to spout all that information at the slightest association. So we drive down the street and see a truck with portable gas tanks in the back. And Evan will immediately chime in about how the Zippleback breathes out green gas and chokes its victims to death.

What entertains me the most about what he has picked up from watching television is the ability to imitate sound effects. So watching him fly his planes and crash his matchbox cars also includes listening to sound effects of cars crashing, speeding ahead, planes zooming up in the sky and occasionally crashing. All this can be discerned quite onomatopoeically.

The most stunning moment to date. Playing with two planes and making them almost crash (all this I hear rather than see because I am in the next room doing something else), suddenly this loud voice hollers "Disengage! Disengage! You're going to crash!"

My 4 1/2 year old son knows how to use the word "disengage" in an aerial dogfight? Has he been watching Top Gun in the middle of the night? I am later informed that it comes from the Incredibles.
















Packrat thinks this boy will have a lot of "geek cred". I don't know about that since I wasn't really ever a geek. So I am going to trust the "geek" dad on that.


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