Archimedes
credit: Jusepe de Ribera, 1630

It’s true that we tend to remember the stories of discovery associated with the scientist. For example, think of Galileo dropping objects from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to determine the relationship between weight and speed (a tale which may be more fictional than factual. After all, he used the comparison between cannon balls and musket balls!) Or in a similar vein, how about Newton’s first insight into the Law of Universal Gravitation while watching an apple fall. Or Benjamin Franklin flying his kites during a thunderstorm. Pavlov working with his salivating dogs.

These stories tend to stick in our minds because we can make a mental picture of them. We don’t make visual images of their laws. However, by using the mental pictures we can usually describe what the laws are about. Objects fall at the same speed regardless of their weight; the relationship between force, mass and distance given a gravitational constant; lightning as an electrical discharge in which unlike charges attract; conditioning of unlearned responses to a new stimulus through association.

This use of mental pictures seems to be the principle that grandparents all over the world tap into when they relate truths via stories which illustrate them. Young children love to hear stories - repeatedly. Story-telling is much more effective teaching tool than we usually acknowledge, because the pictures are there to recapture at will.

As adults, we sometimes feel that we have out-grown the story. "Just give me the facts," we say. Stories take time in the telling. Facts are speedily delivered. But perhaps, after all, there is a place for story in our grown-up, sophisticated world.

For Reflection:

• Name some of your favourite childhood stories. Why did you like them?
• How do you use mental pictures in your life to help you remember facts or principles?