snowdeal.org > ex machina: the eric update - day 207: a stands-on-toes-and-smiles reflex?

ex machina

the eric update - day 207: a stands-on-toes-and-smiles reflex?

i don't know if all infants to it and it's a little hard to tell from this photograph, but we've noticed that as long as odin has his basic needs met ( i.e. not hungry and not tired etc. ), if you stand him on his toes, he'll respond with a big grin; he does it consistently enough that it makes me wonder if there's a reflex or instinct at work that makes standing on one's toes an inherently fun thing to do when you're such a wee one.

i suppose that most of the time when we're standing him on his toes we're making big, expressive smiley faces and talking to him, so maybe we're just confounding variables in the study.

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1/27/2005 07:45:00 PM 3 comments

3 Comments:

would the smiling faces and talking become a constant if you did it every time? sounds like you've got no choice but to continue.
j3

By Anonymous, at 9:03 PM

yes, further study is certainly warranted. but i must say ( hopefully my suspicions are correct as to who j3 really is :-) ) that our high school statistics teacher ( who would that have been again? my memory escapes me ) would be extremely disappointed that you mistakenly assume that if a confound becomes constant it will become less confounding. nay, i say, it's because the the smiling faces and talking are relatively constant that they can't be distinguished from the effects of his standing on his toes alone.

so a proper study would involve a randomized study with a proper number of trials where we state stone faced at odin. but that's too hard to do, so we have to fall back on a dubious data to support our stands-on-toes-and-smiles reflex theory. :-)

By e3, at 10:03 PM

yes, many things regarding my scientific rigor would probably disappoint the majority of our high school science teachers. seems that the spanish teacher is the only one who still believes in me...but i believe there are confounding variables at work there too. she still smiles and talks to me when i stand on my toes. (suspicions confirmed)
j3

By Anonymous, at 1:16 PM

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[ rhetoric ]

“"it is hard to be brave," said piglet, sniffing slightly, "when you're only a Very Small Animal." rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said: "it is because you are a very small animal that you will be Useful in the adventure before us."”

the complete tales & poems of winnie the pooh

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this site chronicles the continuing adventures of my son, odin, who was unexpectedly born on the fourth of july at 25 weeks gestation, weighing 1 pound 7 ounces.

he's quite a fighter and you can always send him a postcard to the most current address listed here if you're inspired by his adventures. see the postcard project/google maps mashup to see a map of the postcards.

if you're new, you can browse the archives to catch up. and don't forget to watch a few movies that i made while we were in the neonatal intensive care unit. or if you want the abridged version and you can find a copy, you can read about his adventures in the november 2005 issue of parents magazine.

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