Tyler Goss - Future Economist

Tyler, my (now) 10 year old son, has always had a little different outlook on life. His favorite channel on the radio is NPR, and his favorite program on NPR is Radio Lab, a weekly talk show dedicated to exploring various aspects of science, philosophy, religion and human nature. He loves to read, and has been known to read the entire Harry Potter series, all 4,167 pages, in one month over his summer vacation. When given the choice to eat a bowl of Lucky Charms or Frosted Flakes for breakfast, he will choose Shredded Mini Wheats. Every single time.  

All of this is totally and completely normal.....for a 47 year old English professor from New Hampshire. Not a 9 year old, blond-haired, blue-eyed kid from California. However, with all of that in mind, to go along with his very adult tastes in breakfast cereal, Tyler also has a very adult wit and sense of humor. Not only does he “get” most adult jokes, but he also frequently surprises us with spontaneous, funny and witty quips, many of which I doubt even the English Professor from New Hampshire would appreciate.

So you can imagine my lack of surprise when one of our good friends, Tara, told us of an experience that she had at her son's recent birthday party. The boys were just settling in on the floor of the family room to watch the new Percy Jackson movie. Tara, being ever aware of her lovely new carpet, made each boy pinky swear that they would NOT spill even a drop of Sprite on her carpet. As soon as they agreed to surrender their life should they spill, she would then open their re-sealable soda container and move on to the next 9 year old boy.

When she approached Tyler to solicit the standard oath and promise, he politely declined her offer. Puzzled, she asked him why he didn't want her to open his soda. He responded by saying, “I've done a risk analysis of the situation, and don't think that it would be in my best interest to have mine open right now”.

Thank you for your concise analysis, professor.  Next week's lesson - Tyler outlines, in detail, the value of opting for the higher maximum air speed velocity of the Nimbus 2000 over the superior handling and braking abilities of the Firebolt.