My father, who is 88 years old, was quite the amateur scientist and astronomer when I was growing up. We were always doing an experiment or looking through the telescope or learning something cool. But he never took any science in high school. When he was young, his religious zeal drove him away from science classes. He felt as though science was a threat to faith, and he wanted no part of that. I’m not sure when he changed his mind, but it was soon after high school. It may have been going overseas during World War II, and seeing a wider world than he had known growing up in rural Mississippi.
He brought it up the other day and told me that when he realized how much he didn’t know, he began seeking out good books about varied subjects. He would go outside under his favorite tree and read those books aloud to himself. He was determined to be his own teacher, and, most folks who know him would say that he has done a pretty good job.
So, throughout my life, he has taught me much, but nothing more important than what he taught me by example. Don’t be afraid of ideas, and never stop learning. That’s pretty good advice.