Chris Ferrie is an award-winning physicist and Senior Lecturer for Quantum Software and Information at the University of Technology Sydney. He has a Masters in Applied Mathematics, BMath in Mathematical Physics and a PhD in Applied Mathematics. He is the author of the popular Baby University picture book series. He lives in Australia with his wife and children.
Today, Chris Ferris is on the blog to take on our Ten Terrifying Questions – read on!
Chris Ferrie
1. To begin with why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself – where were you born? Raised? Schooled?
I was born and raised in Southwestern Ontario, the southernmost point in Canada — further south than Northern California! It was a small town and trouble was the easiest way to cure boredom. I went to university to avoid getting a job. There I fell in love with learning, and I’ve been a student ever since.
- What did you want to be when you were twelve, eighteen and thirty? And why?
When I was young and looked at the adults around me, none of them had jobs that appealed to me. None of the jobs I had as a teenager appealed to me either. In my late teens I decided the only option was to be a student forever. Well, at some point, I couldn’t literally be a student anymore. But academia offered me a place to continue learning. So, here I am, an Associate Professor still learning. But this is not the end. The way I see it now is I have two options: spend my energy on maintenance, or growth. I can passively use the skills I have acquired until now, or I can continue to learn new skills and open up new worlds of possibility. Where will those take me? I don’t know. It was never about what I wanted to be in the end, it was always about keeping the end out of sight.
- What strongly held belief did you have when you were younger that you do not have now?
When I was young, I used to think that every police officer knew everything about the law, every bank teller knew everything about money and investment, every teacher knew everything about their subject, every doctor knew how to fix every medical problem, and every customer service representative knew exactly how to fix the problem I was having with their product. Now it is so clear to me how wrong I was. In fact we all know so little. We label ourselves as experts, but that just means we know more than most, which doesn’t need to be much. I continue to discover new things about quantum physics even after 15 years of studying it. And, every discovery is accompanied by the revelation of new things yet to be understood. What we are missing today is the comfort to admit this and ask for help when we need it.
- What are three works of art – book or painting or piece of music, etc – that you can now say had a great effect on you and influenced your own development as a writer?
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See by Eric Carle showed me that you don’t need a traditional story, with characters and conflict, when writing for children. You can write about completely nonsensical things like blue horses and purple cats if you use simple devices like repetition and high contrast images to engage young eyes and ears.
The Book With No Pictures by B.J. Novak taught me that simplicity reigns supreme in children’s books. I think the title, which doesn’t lie, says it all.
Tails by Matthew Van Fleet showed me the possibilities are not limited to two dimensions, and novelty doesn’t necessarily mean gimmicky. It showed me that adults and children can really have fun together, both being actively engaged in books for the youngest audiences.
- What made you choose to write children’s books?
I certainly would not have written a children’s book had I not had children of my own. Being a scientist myself, I was always on the lookout for science books to read to my young children. When I saw that someone else had written some maths books for children and that they had self-published them, I started to think about writing about my area of expertise. The self-publishing option was key because this needed to be a hobby that would allow me to still focus on growing my academic career. When the title Quantum Physics for Babies popped into my head, I knew I had something that would at least cause some doubletakes. With all the positive feedback from the first book, I was really inspired to continue.
‘I want everyone (yes, everyone!) to have the tools they need to critically evaluate the information that is being shown to them.’
- Please tell us about your book!
It’s called Climate Change for Babies. This topic was way outside my comfort zone when we started. It is not my area of scientific expertise. And, it is an immensely controversial subject (though, it really shouldn’t be). So I enlisted another great scientist, Dr Katherina Petrou, to collaborate on it. I think it turned out great and I hope it shows not only the science behind climate but also motivates people to think more and act on this incredibly looming threat.
- What do you hope kids will take away with them after reading your book?
Regardless of what I write in children’s books, kids will always learn more from the passive interactions with their parents and teachers. But, the problem is that many adults find physics and mathematics scary. I hear things like this all the time: I was never good in science class, I’ll never understand physics, or I hated math in school. Whether it is intentional or not, they steer their children away from these topics. I want parents, and hence children, to not fear physics and mathematics and to see that, maybe, it can even be fun.
- Who do you most admire in the realm of writing and why?
Aaron Blabey just gets kids. He has an incredible talent to draw in his audience with outrageous prose and illustrations to match. Blabey books are a favourite in our house from age 3 to 10. When the film adaptations of The Bad Guys and Thelma the Unicorn are released, it will be a madhouse. To have that kind of effect on readers is something to aspire to.
- Many artists set themselves very ambitious goals. What are yours?
Well, to be honest, the ultimate goal is not very modest. I want everyone (yes, everyone!) to have the tools they need to critically evaluate the information that is being shown to them. Today that information arrives by highly personalised algorithms and polarised media. The best way I know how to achieve this is through an understanding of the content and practice of science, how technologies are engineered and used to manipulate, and how to reason in the face of uncertainty. I want to empower people to confidently make their own decisions and not those dictated only by interest groups that can afford to pay for tools of manipulation.
- What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Write every idea down. Write as much as you can down while it is fresh on your mind. But don’t feel committed to completing every project. Many projects will fail, and this is where you will have learned the most. Use rejection as an opportunity to improve by asking questions. Don’t ask for rationalisations, though. What people want to see, hear, and read is driven by the gut. For example, don’t ask “what about it didn’t you like?” Ask instead, “how did you feel when you looked at this or read that?” Finally, go back to those ideas you write down often and ask yourself if they can be improved upon with new insight. Your best idea might be one you’ve long forgotten about!
—Find more books in the Baby University series by Chris Ferrie here.
Climate Change for Babies
Set the children in your life on a lifelong path to learning with the next installment of the Baby University board book series.
Full of scientific information, this is the perfect book to teach complex concepts in a simple, engaging way. Climate Change for Babies is a colourfully simple introduction for youngsters (and grownups!) to what climate change is and what we can do about it. It's never too early to become a scientist!...
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