Poem: "Science Bros"
This is today's freebie. It was inspired by a prompt from Dreamwidth user Siberian_skys. It also fills the "science" square in my 8-1-24 card for the Discworld Bingo Fest. This poem belongs to the series LIFC.
"Science Bros"
Tony knew that he
had to be careful
with Bruce, but
not too careful.
Don't step on
the minefield of
triggers, but don't
treat him (them) like
broken glass either.
Tony remembered
that one nanny he
had who was all about
the "prepared environment."
It worked so well for science
that it had stuck in his mind
all these years, how you could
set up a space to invite curiosity
and experimentation without
having to say a word about it.
So that's what Tony did with
what he considered the "play lab" --
the one for scientific fooling around
when you didn't have a set project or
a deadline breathing down your neck
and you could just do stuff to see
what would happen when you did.
It only took a minute for JARVIS
to print off a Candyland banner
so Tony could hang it over the door.
It took almost a week for Bruce
to calm down enough that Tony
could even coax him up there.
Tony kept up a stream of
meaningless chatter, opened
the door, then backed through
so he could watch the reaction.
Bruce stared at the lab, stunned,
eyes wide and jaw falling open.
"Tony, this is ... this is ... amazing!"
he said, turning in place to look
all around the enormous room.
Workbenches with built-in equipment
ran down the middle of the room.
Heavier equipment lined the walls,
along with storage cabinets full
of supplies, tools, and other stuff.
They were organized by section,
but you could mix and match if
you wanted multiple sciences
working together in a project.
"Well, I aim to please," Tony said.
"What's your pleasure? I've got
you Life Sciences here --" He
pointed to a cabinet labeled,
It's green and it wriggles.
"-- and Chemistry here --"
He waved at another one
marked, Let's blow shit up!
"I, I really don't like explosions,"
Bruce said, wringing his hands.
"I'd rather build something
that's more ... constructive."
"Mechanical Engineering it is,"
Tony crowed, opening a cabinet
whose sign read, Look at it go!
Inside were shelves full of
loose parts -- gears, wheels,
rods, nuts and bolts, hinges,
assorted shapes and sizes of
metal plates, beams with holes,
spools of wire in various metals,
and other useful components.
"It looks like an Erector Set
for grownups," Bruce said softly.
"That's because it is designed
as an Erector Set for grownups,"
Tony said. "This kit of parts is
made for rapid prototyping." He
pulled a Starkpad from a rack.
"You can use a computer for
digital design or just to scan
what you built from hardware."
"Wow," Bruce said, fingers
twitching toward it. Then he
put his hands in his pockets.
"I don't know, Tony, I tend
to break everything I touch."
"So what?" Tony said, flinging
his hands wide. "I break shit
all the time." He picked up
a glass container and tossed
it to the floor, where it shattered.
A tiny robot scurried out of the wall
to sweep up the shards, making
an adorable scolding noise. Then
it disappeared back into the wall,
its robot-flap closing behind it.
Bruce snorted a laugh. "Okay,
that was really cute," he said.
"It helps overcome the fear of
failure that some people have,"
Tony explained. "Really though,
don't worry about breaking things.
I actually am made of money."
"Guess I can't argue with
that one," Bruce admitted.
"Great!" Tony said. "So,
what are we making today?"
Bruce looked into the cabinet
with its neatly organized shelves
of tempting hardware components.
"Maybe a centrifuge?" he said. "I
built a lot of those from bicycle parts..."
"Well, if you want a box of scraps,
the junkyard is right over there,"
Tony said, pointing to a corner
that was indeed labeled, Junkyard,
overseen by a stuffed dog that had
three heads and wore a white coat.
Bruce finally laughed out loud.
"I think I'd rather work with
something new," he said,
"or at least start out that way."
"All right, then, we're building
a better centrifuge," Tony said.
He grabbed a basket from a stack
and started piling parts into it.
"JARVIS, invention mode on!"
"What's that?" Bruce said,
nervously looking around.
"That just tells JARVIS that
we're doing open-ended work,
so he'll track it for us, and then
we don't need to make notes of
our own unless we just want to,"
said Tony. "Sometimes I get
excited and forget tracking, so
I made an assistant for that."
"Convenient," Bruce admitted.
"Could I ... borrow a computer too?"
"Sure," Tony said. He handed Bruce
a Starkpad, then pushed a basket
at him. "Fill this with stuff that looks
fun, don't leave me picking it all."
"Okay..." Bruce said hesitantly, then
more firmly, "Okay. We need gears,
rods, something like a hoop or barrel
to make the spin chamber with ..."
Tony grinned. "Containers
are right over here," he said.
Bruce was so hooked.
* * *
Notes:
Montessori Literature as a Genre
Prepared Environment
Just as Montessori schools (or homes) rely on carefully designed spaces and materials to promote learning, so Montessori Literature uses settings to the same effect. These tend to be beautiful with lavish descriptions, which makes them a delight to read, but they also furnish characters with many useful resources for solving any challenges. For instance, a stressed character may find a relaxing garden, while one whose bike breaks down may encounter a bike repair station. Montessori writers and readers love exploring the myriad ways in which small or large environmental changes can make life more pleasant and enlightening. Conversely, some stories examine how a bad environment can harm people, and then how to fix that kind of damage in both people and places.
Candyland is a famous board game for children that starts teaching the basic skills of tabletop gaming like taking turns and moving pawns along a path. Due to the colorful artwork and phantasmagoric sweets, it has become a metaphor for any fun and playful environment. This is how Tony uses it in the Avengers quote:
Tony Stark : You should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top 10 floors all R&D, you'd love it... it's candyland.
Bruce Banner : Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke... Harlem.
The Erector Set was a series of construction toys that consisted of loose parts made from metal, ideal for assembling anything from a bridge to a wagon. The concept also works well as a means of "doodling" in three dimensions for inventors.
Rapid prototyping today focuses on computer-assisted design and 3D printing, but it started out as tinkers keeping a stock of loose parts useful for assembling things by hand, which could be an actual working model or a sort of tangible sketch.
Fear of failure can come from many causes, but especially abuse. Know the signs of it. Positive pyschology can help overcome fear of failure. In this case, Tony simply provides a practical demonstration that in his lab it's safe to fail and to break things. This is crucial because failure is a natural and necessary part of the learning process. If you're not making any mistakes, you're not learning, you're coasting.
A centrifuge is a tool used for separating substances by spinning them. It is used in many aspects of science. You can build a centrifuge from all kinds of different things such as a bicycle, a drill, or a circular saw. I expect Bruce has used many of these methods based on whatever he could find at the time.
This series of videos shows the process of a scientist cobbling up a centrifuge from scraps.
DIY Centrifuge from junk - part 1
DIY Centrifuge from junk - part 2
DIY Centrifuge from junk - part 3
DIY Centrifuge from junk - part 4 (final)
"Science Bros"
Tony knew that he
had to be careful
with Bruce, but
not too careful.
Don't step on
the minefield of
triggers, but don't
treat him (them) like
broken glass either.
Tony remembered
that one nanny he
had who was all about
the "prepared environment."
It worked so well for science
that it had stuck in his mind
all these years, how you could
set up a space to invite curiosity
and experimentation without
having to say a word about it.
So that's what Tony did with
what he considered the "play lab" --
the one for scientific fooling around
when you didn't have a set project or
a deadline breathing down your neck
and you could just do stuff to see
what would happen when you did.
It only took a minute for JARVIS
to print off a Candyland banner
so Tony could hang it over the door.
It took almost a week for Bruce
to calm down enough that Tony
could even coax him up there.
Tony kept up a stream of
meaningless chatter, opened
the door, then backed through
so he could watch the reaction.
Bruce stared at the lab, stunned,
eyes wide and jaw falling open.
"Tony, this is ... this is ... amazing!"
he said, turning in place to look
all around the enormous room.
Workbenches with built-in equipment
ran down the middle of the room.
Heavier equipment lined the walls,
along with storage cabinets full
of supplies, tools, and other stuff.
They were organized by section,
but you could mix and match if
you wanted multiple sciences
working together in a project.
"Well, I aim to please," Tony said.
"What's your pleasure? I've got
you Life Sciences here --" He
pointed to a cabinet labeled,
It's green and it wriggles.
"-- and Chemistry here --"
He waved at another one
marked, Let's blow shit up!
"I, I really don't like explosions,"
Bruce said, wringing his hands.
"I'd rather build something
that's more ... constructive."
"Mechanical Engineering it is,"
Tony crowed, opening a cabinet
whose sign read, Look at it go!
Inside were shelves full of
loose parts -- gears, wheels,
rods, nuts and bolts, hinges,
assorted shapes and sizes of
metal plates, beams with holes,
spools of wire in various metals,
and other useful components.
"It looks like an Erector Set
for grownups," Bruce said softly.
"That's because it is designed
as an Erector Set for grownups,"
Tony said. "This kit of parts is
made for rapid prototyping." He
pulled a Starkpad from a rack.
"You can use a computer for
digital design or just to scan
what you built from hardware."
"Wow," Bruce said, fingers
twitching toward it. Then he
put his hands in his pockets.
"I don't know, Tony, I tend
to break everything I touch."
"So what?" Tony said, flinging
his hands wide. "I break shit
all the time." He picked up
a glass container and tossed
it to the floor, where it shattered.
A tiny robot scurried out of the wall
to sweep up the shards, making
an adorable scolding noise. Then
it disappeared back into the wall,
its robot-flap closing behind it.
Bruce snorted a laugh. "Okay,
that was really cute," he said.
"It helps overcome the fear of
failure that some people have,"
Tony explained. "Really though,
don't worry about breaking things.
I actually am made of money."
"Guess I can't argue with
that one," Bruce admitted.
"Great!" Tony said. "So,
what are we making today?"
Bruce looked into the cabinet
with its neatly organized shelves
of tempting hardware components.
"Maybe a centrifuge?" he said. "I
built a lot of those from bicycle parts..."
"Well, if you want a box of scraps,
the junkyard is right over there,"
Tony said, pointing to a corner
that was indeed labeled, Junkyard,
overseen by a stuffed dog that had
three heads and wore a white coat.
Bruce finally laughed out loud.
"I think I'd rather work with
something new," he said,
"or at least start out that way."
"All right, then, we're building
a better centrifuge," Tony said.
He grabbed a basket from a stack
and started piling parts into it.
"JARVIS, invention mode on!"
"What's that?" Bruce said,
nervously looking around.
"That just tells JARVIS that
we're doing open-ended work,
so he'll track it for us, and then
we don't need to make notes of
our own unless we just want to,"
said Tony. "Sometimes I get
excited and forget tracking, so
I made an assistant for that."
"Convenient," Bruce admitted.
"Could I ... borrow a computer too?"
"Sure," Tony said. He handed Bruce
a Starkpad, then pushed a basket
at him. "Fill this with stuff that looks
fun, don't leave me picking it all."
"Okay..." Bruce said hesitantly, then
more firmly, "Okay. We need gears,
rods, something like a hoop or barrel
to make the spin chamber with ..."
Tony grinned. "Containers
are right over here," he said.
Bruce was so hooked.
* * *
Notes:
Montessori Literature as a Genre
Prepared Environment
Just as Montessori schools (or homes) rely on carefully designed spaces and materials to promote learning, so Montessori Literature uses settings to the same effect. These tend to be beautiful with lavish descriptions, which makes them a delight to read, but they also furnish characters with many useful resources for solving any challenges. For instance, a stressed character may find a relaxing garden, while one whose bike breaks down may encounter a bike repair station. Montessori writers and readers love exploring the myriad ways in which small or large environmental changes can make life more pleasant and enlightening. Conversely, some stories examine how a bad environment can harm people, and then how to fix that kind of damage in both people and places.
Candyland is a famous board game for children that starts teaching the basic skills of tabletop gaming like taking turns and moving pawns along a path. Due to the colorful artwork and phantasmagoric sweets, it has become a metaphor for any fun and playful environment. This is how Tony uses it in the Avengers quote:
Tony Stark : You should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top 10 floors all R&D, you'd love it... it's candyland.
Bruce Banner : Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke... Harlem.
The Erector Set was a series of construction toys that consisted of loose parts made from metal, ideal for assembling anything from a bridge to a wagon. The concept also works well as a means of "doodling" in three dimensions for inventors.
Rapid prototyping today focuses on computer-assisted design and 3D printing, but it started out as tinkers keeping a stock of loose parts useful for assembling things by hand, which could be an actual working model or a sort of tangible sketch.
Fear of failure can come from many causes, but especially abuse. Know the signs of it. Positive pyschology can help overcome fear of failure. In this case, Tony simply provides a practical demonstration that in his lab it's safe to fail and to break things. This is crucial because failure is a natural and necessary part of the learning process. If you're not making any mistakes, you're not learning, you're coasting.
A centrifuge is a tool used for separating substances by spinning them. It is used in many aspects of science. You can build a centrifuge from all kinds of different things such as a bicycle, a drill, or a circular saw. I expect Bruce has used many of these methods based on whatever he could find at the time.
This series of videos shows the process of a scientist cobbling up a centrifuge from scraps.
DIY Centrifuge from junk - part 1
DIY Centrifuge from junk - part 2
DIY Centrifuge from junk - part 3
DIY Centrifuge from junk - part 4 (final)