Common Taxonomy.
I wake the child for school this morning. Last night, as he was going to bed, he expressed concerns that he might have nightmares.
“Did you have any nightmares?” I ask him.
“I did,” he says, “right before I woke up.”
“What happened?”
“I was reading a dinosaur book. I turned the page, and there was a dinosaur I’d never heard of before. I read that, and then I turned the next page, and there was a Tyrannosaurus Rex that was going to eat me.”
“Oh no…I’m sorry you were scared. But you’re awake now, and the Tyrannosaurus Rex is extinct, so it can’t eat you.”
“Yes it can.”
“No. There aren’t any left.”
“Well, there are still scavengers. And Tyrannosaurus Rex was a scavenger.”
“True, but what scavenger are you afraid is going to eat you?”
“The Greenland shark.”
“The Greenland shark? When are you going to run into a Greenland shark?”
“When I’m at the North Pole.”
“When are you going to be at the North Pole?”
“What if I’m working for Santa Claus?”
“…”
“…”
“Let’s get you dressed. Would you like a bagel for breakfast?”
Creative Control 