10-Year-Old Accidentally Discovers New Explosive Molecule

[Zipa]

Good for her, some of mankind's greatest discoveries in science and medicine have been accidental.

 

[Irridium]

Fleming didn't go, "I found an odd mould pattern, would you solve why this has happened please?" to another person, no, he took it upon himself to research it and helped save many people as a result.

He had the intelligence to actually use his discovery unlike this person.

She is TEN. She's just learning about this stuff. Fleming was an adult when he made his discovery. Your sentiment is like telling a kindergardener who's just learning how to add that they should know how to perform algebraic equations.

Not that she should know it but she shouldn't get tons of praise for her "discovery".

Read my above post about the monkeys and the novel.

Dude, relax. She made a great discovery, people are happy. Yeah it was at random, so what? If it has applicable uses to life than who cares if it was her who discovered it or some scientist?

 

[Scentless Apprentice]

Read my above post, this "fame" will be short lived. I doubt we will see her again after this week.

Then why on earth do you care so much?

 

[Jonluw]

The science teacher is called Boehr?
That's pretty awesome.

Oh yeah, and the explosives. Yay. I'll be interested to see if it has any funny properties.

 

[UnderGlass]

So did the child just put together a model for the craic or did she intentionally put it together with full knowledge of what she is doing.

If it's the former then I really don't care. If it's the latter then "Good for you".

Bit harsh. In the world of real growny-uppy scientists things get discovered accidentally all the time.

That's good for them but if the former is true (in my original post) then it means she isn't gifted or anything and should be praised as much as anyone else who discovers things with no real use ie not much.

If she discovered it and then she found a way to sythesise it in real life and found a use for it then that's fantastic and she should be praised for it but I think the Professor should get more praise in this case as he is actually going to investigate it and its uses.

EDIT Boom, I was right

"But that?s what happened when Clara Lazen, 10, randomly arranged a unique combination of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon atoms."

http://now.humboldt.edu/news/not-your-average-fifth-grade-assignment/

Randomly

So this is where the Grinch comes after stealing Christmas from some Albanian orphans

 

[TheLastSamurai14]

but I would be willing to bet that the next six months of his life will involve little more than fifth-graders storming his desk with nonsensical molecule configurations hoping that they've stumbled onto something. Poor guy.

"I've discovered ice-creamium!"

If it's made into an explosive, she really deserves to have her name on it. Clartex or something.

My vote will go toward Lazenium.

 

[RoyalWelsh]

So did the child just put together a model for the craic or did she intentionally put it together with full knowledge of what she is doing.

If it's the former then I really don't care. If it's the latter then "Good for you".

EDIT I was right

"But that?s what happened when Clara Lazen, 10, randomly arranged a unique combination of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon atoms."

http://now.humboldt.edu/news/not-your-average-fifth-grade-assignment/

Randomly

It was pure chance and she isn't going to be the one researching its uses so well done little girl, you discovered something by accident and will have no involvement in making it useful.

I think you are just sore a 10 year old will have more reknown than you ever will.

I doubt after this week anyone will mention her name again. I can live with her "fame".

Yeah, clearly....

¬_¬

Anyway, good for her, I wish I would accidentally or otherwise discover something cool.

 

[RoyalWelsh]

So did the child just put together a model for the craic or did she intentionally put it together with full knowledge of what she is doing.

If it's the former then I really don't care. If it's the latter then "Good for you".

EDIT I was right

"But that?s what happened when Clara Lazen, 10, randomly arranged a unique combination of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon atoms."

http://now.humboldt.edu/news/not-your-average-fifth-grade-assignment/

Randomly

It was pure chance and she isn't going to be the one researching its uses so well done little girl, you discovered something by accident and will have no involvement in making it useful.

I think you are just sore a 10 year old will have more reknown than you ever will.

I doubt after this week anyone will mention her name again. I can live with her "fame".

Yeah, clearly....

¬_¬

Anyway, good for her, I wish I would accidentally or otherwise discover something cool.

Yes, I'm seething with rage.

As I said before

"I don't care that much, I just made a comment showing my utter apathy for her which has "offended" many people as we aren't showering this child with praise.

Every week scientists make great discoveries but barely anyone cares, a child randomly does it and suddenly it's news?"

Lol, never said you were angry mate, its all cool.

Just let the kid have this one, ok.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Randomly

Instead of getting hit on the head with an apple, tasting your finger, letting orange go mouldy, serving someone wafer-thin potatoes or any of the other random ways Science is progressed?

Or would you class Gravity, Saccharin, Penicillin, or Crisps as not very exciting?

Why should Douglas Addams get credit for a Fungus moth (Erechthias beeblebroxi)? Simply because he wrote a very famous character with two heads?

Don't forget all the polymers. I can't remember who it was doing the research but the first polymer was created by accident as well.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I dont pretend to understand half of this, but shouldn't the teacher be getting far more credit for seeing the potential?

I imagine it takes a certain kind of person to look at one of those constructs, after week in, week out, staring at about 30 or so over an hour, and go 'hey, there's something important here!'

Having said that, if the kid understoof all the rules of how they fit together, and created a new formation that would work as a new molecule, they also deserve a lot of credit, I'd not take 'randomly' as fact, purely because it's been written by a journalist, and they do so love to fluff up their text with additional words, and randomly makes it all sound like a more exciting discovery.

 

[Rallus]

I still think the girl deserves little credit for it. She's no genius and shouldn't be celebrated as one. If anything the person who noticed this random selection of molecules and the person who actually studied them should be given credit simply because they were clever enough to notice it. The cure for cancer could be goats cheese for all we know, would you call the cheesemaker a genius for making the cheese that cures cancer or the scientist that studied the cheese and found out that it cures cancer?

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Randomly

Instead of getting hit on the head with an apple, tasting your finger, letting orange go mouldy, serving someone wafer-thin potatoes or any of the other random ways Science is progressed?

Or would you class Gravity, Saccharin, Penicillin, or Crisps as not very exciting?

And those people all wrote papers/investigated uses of their discoveries.

Fleming didn't go, "I found an odd mould pattern, would you solve why this has happened please?" to another person, no, he took it upon himself to research it and helped save many people as a result.

He had the intelligence to actually use his discovery unlike this person.

I'm sure everyone who's ever had the chance to use those molecular models at some point during their schooling has just dicked around making random patterns with them at least once, and the vast majority of those just take apart their models again without thinking about it. She displayed a level of intellectual engagement far beyond expectations just by following up on her idea. Does it make her a genius? No, of course not, but it is promising. I know that if I'd discovered a new theoretical molecule, however accidentally, I'd be psyched to take science more seriously in the future. If that's what she does, then it may lead to her going on to make even more discoveries as an adult that she can take full credit for.

 

[Mozza444]

*Snip

I agree with this guy 100%
She really hasn't done anything special, this is what she was playing with:

Spoiler

At a basic level.. all the 'holes' must be filled and joined to another 'ball'.
She made a pretty pattern, that is all.
The fact that it 'could' potentially be something useful is worthless.
If this had any impact on Science, real scientists would be sat in fancy labs playing with their Molymods.

The hard part is finding how to make this molecule and what it even does.

Give me that molecule and i will replace all of those Oxygen atoms with Sulphur.
I have just made a new molecule, and yes its probably just as valid as the little girls.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Don't ever compare her to Beethoven.

Of course not, Beethoven was a hack. This girl's got some talent.