Online Response: Here Comes Science!

Anna would quickly tell you that since last Tuesday, They Might Be Giants has been shaking the walls of our studio apartment. The melodies of Science is Real, Meet the Elements, and both of the sun songs seem to be permanently stuck in my head. It's been fun to discover that it is not just good music to listen to and share, I am actually learning! Little facts from the lyrics stick with me, and I feel like a kid again, looking at the sun and the salt shaker in a whole new way.
The topic of inquiry has been one of my favorite so far. This Christmas I had the enlightening experience of visiting my brother and his wife in Boston. Anna and I attended church with them at the Cambridge ward, a small, tight nit congregation comprised mostly of ivy league professors. The experience was eye opening. Their Sunday School teachers tackle difficult topics with gusto, citing multiple sources from scriptures, church history documents, and scholars. In the third hour, we both experienced in depth questioning of basic gospel concepts, which in our ward, were mostly taken for granted. One of the older brothers in the ward said these profound words that I will never forget: there are a lot of people in this ward who have left the church. But no one left because they knew too much.
As conservative Mormons, I imagine that I may not have been the only one to initially cringe at Here Comes Science. Though I believe in evolution and the scientific method, such phrases as "the facts are with science. The truth is with science" and "my brother the ape" still seem irreverent to some degree. Would I really have my children listen to this? The answer, after brief yet meaningful contemplation, is a resounding yes. Like the members in Boston, my children will not abandon what they know to be true because they know too little. Quite the contrary. By encouraging inquiry, the honest quest for knowledge, we can assure ourselves that we will always find truth around us, and can be constantly learning from good sources.
My favorite part of Here Comes Science is 'The Sun is a Miasma'. I love that They Might Be Giants not only re-wrote the song to be more scientifically correct, but included it on the album with their first version. It teaches us an important truth about inquiry. It must always be happening, even in adults. More important than teaching us facts, Here Comes Science fills us with a sense of wonder, a desire to go out into the world, do research, perform tests, and discover truths on our own. The same can be said for 'Cathedral' and the other films we watched for home fun. None of them have the goal of being the definitive source of knowledge on their topic. They know that, due to the audience, they will only be giving a fraction of the information they could give. But this does not weaken the media, it strengthens it. By bringing up more questions than facts, inquiry based media encourages questioning and discovery rather than blind acceptance. Inquiry based media fills us with curiosity, rather than confirmation.
I have made a commitment to consume more media of this type in my own life. And just so you know, in my astronomy class I learned why the moon changes positions in the sky! You can ask me about it if you want...or just look it up on your own I suppose.