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Why Kids Love Garbage Trucks

theatlantic.com

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Re: Why Kids Love Garbage Trucks

#71

Post by Rerarom »

aklemm wrote: post #56
isolli wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also a similar theory to explain why boys are more interested in cars than girls (which my kids have proven convincingly, albeit with a low sample size): boys, as future hunters, are attracted to preys that move, hence, in the modern environment, to balls and cars.

All this back-and-forth about whether and how it's nature or nurture. The point of modern gender freedom is not to deny there is a strong nature influence, it's to nurture kids to go whichever directions they like. All these anecdotes about how this kid and that kid displayed common traditional gender preferences seem to be offered as an argument against trying to upset the traditional nature of these preferences. Su…

> maybe only 5% of girls are ever going to want to race cars, but the idea is to make room those 5%

This is something that should be said more frequently, maybe packaged up in a catchy slogan, as it would enjoy nearly universal agreement. Whoever does that will end the culture war.

Re: Why Kids Love Garbage Trucks

#72

Post by arunix »

isolli wrote: post #13
ajkjk wrote: post #4

This didn't address my favorite theory: that (some) kids are programmed to learn as much as they can about the nearby megafauna, and in this world the closest approximation is these big garbage/fire/construction vehicles.

There's also a similar theory to explain why boys are more interested in cars than girls (which my kids have proven convincingly, albeit with a low sample size): boys, as future hunters, are attracted to preys that move, hence, in the modern environment, to balls and cars.

I've seen little girls chasing the pigeons on a few occasions, so ... no longer sure about the hunter/gatherer aspect of this.

Re: Why Kids Love Garbage Trucks

#73

Post by nkrisc »

syngrog66 wrote: post #36
nollbit wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless your daughter never met with other kids or other adults, it's seems hard to say there's been no bias.

9 month old baby

So? At 9 months my son had met many other kids and they are very observant at that age, even if you don't notice.

Was your kid different? Your comment is not a lot to go off of but I get the sense you haven't raised a kid.

Re: Why Kids Love Garbage Trucks

#74

Post by Drakim »

Quarrelsome wrote: post #65
Drakim wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree that insisting it MUST be social conditioning is close-minded and silly. We should be open minded about various possibilities in nature vs nurture. But on the other hand, lots of people have a tendency to think and say that certain things are "obviously true" based on what they are used to seeing in society, like that boys like cars and girls like dolls, and even start rationalizing it ("This is what…

> I totally agree that insisting it MUST be social conditioning is close-minded and silly. Isn't it somewhat likely though? Kids are born with all of their genes and they can't do anything straight out of the womb. What has zero impact at that point is nurture though. Nurture therefore seems to have a huge influence, this somewhat downgrades genes to only push what's already been established by culture.

Well, that's assuming that genes are all maximally expressed from the moment somebody is born, and that nothing can lie dormant, so if we don't see the behavior right away it must have been "added later" by culture.

I don't think that's a safe assumption to make.

Re: Why Kids Love Garbage Trucks

#75

Post by andromeduck »

goto11 wrote: post #61
ajkjk wrote: post #4

This didn't address my favorite theory: that (some) kids are programmed to learn as much as they can about the nearby megafauna, and in this world the closest approximation is these big garbage/fire/construction vehicles.

Such evolutionary just-so stories can be used to explain anything and there is no way to falsify them. However, just applying common sense: Wouldn't it be more beneficial for their survival if kids were programmed to stay away from megafauna? It might eat them or step on them.

Presumably the parents have that covered.

Re: Why Kids Love Garbage Trucks

#76

Post by rightbyte »

arunix wrote: post #72
isolli wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also a similar theory to explain why boys are more interested in cars than girls (which my kids have proven convincingly, albeit with a low sample size): boys, as future hunters, are attracted to preys that move, hence, in the modern environment, to balls and cars.

I've seen little girls chasing the pigeons on a few occasions, so ... no longer sure about the hunter/gatherer aspect of this.

I guess arcaic females also did hunting. Like wolfs and cats. Mens physical strength is probably from fighting other men not prey?

Re: Why Kids Love Garbage Trucks

#77

Post by wisty »

nollbit wrote: post #29
heinrichhartman wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My girl was 9months when sh started acrively pushing for bracelets, fancy hats, etc. I took her to a bike shop, an she immediately went for the pink Helmet with stars. We dressed her in neutral cloths (second hand), we dont have a TV. Her mother does not wear juwlery or makeup. To us this appears innate.

Unless your daughter never met with other kids or other adults, it's seems hard to say there's been no bias.

I wonder if there's some social constraints that babies naturally seem to rebel against (or at least be less interested in). Cooks used to be mostly women, now they're mostly men. Accountants used to be mostly men, now they're mostly women. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/03/a-visual-history-of-g...

Pink was once for boys.

On the other hand it seems that infant chimps and rhesus monkeys play with gendered toys - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/dec/20/chimps-play-...

It seems like nurture isn't naturally all that strong except in certain circumstances.

Re: Why Kids Love Garbage Trucks

#80

Post by LanceH »

aklemm wrote: post #70
atom-morgan wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The point of modern gender freedom is not to deny there is a strong nature influence, Are you sure about that?

I hope so, but I'm more sure that claiming progressives are trying to deny nature altogether is a useful straw-man for detractors with evidence only from the fringes. But how could you and I be more sure of what's really going on?

Perhaps the progressive movement should dig a little deeper for "proof" that a mere difference in rates of participation. The mere fact more men do something seems to constitute both proof that there is systematic sexism and that those males who are over represented are sexist. It gets tiring.
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