Re: Terrified Parents

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: Mark Fergerson <mfergerson1-at-cox-dot-net> 

Tesla list wrote:
>Original poster: "margaret louise" <tullera-at-optusnet-dot-com.au>
>Hi all,
>I am 15, and am in the process of building my first TC, from a 12/30 nst. 
>However as my largish 12/30 NST arrived in the mail today, my mother has 
>gone on a major freak/stress/ you are going to kill yourself ramapage. I 
>tried telling her i had read the sftey doc on the pipman site and numerous 
>other but to relatively no avail.  is there anyone out there who can say 
>anything to help put her mind at ease?

   I agree with all the other respondents and will add that if your mom's 
politics are as Conservative as her rightful attitudes about safety, you 
can point out that your interest in the "how and why" of coiling will help 
put America back into its position of technical dominance. That may sound 
like cheating, but if you're diligent and careful it'll be true. You'll not 
only have built a rather showy way to make sparks and noise, you'll be able 
to hold forth at length on how it works and what its implications for other 
technologies are. You'll be able to do so on whatever level your listeners 
can understand, too; we don't invent such things as hydraulic analogies of 
electricity for fun, but to explain complex things to people without the 
technical background to know them directly. You'll gain the ability to do 
that fairly; we do this to explain things to ourselves as we increase our 
own understanding, you see.

   This is after all an educational hobby that builds character through the 
discipline required not just to get the coil working, but understanding the 
hazards well enough to prevent injuries. You'll find yourself improving 
your school grades in math in order to understand how your coil works. 
You'll find yourself thinking ahead in other areas of life, foreseeing 
problems and preparing solutions to them. You'll find that you become 
neater in other situations as you get used to say, arranging wiring to 
avoid unwanted electrical effects. The habit of neatness is self 
propagating and self reinforcing. That can't hurt. ;>)

   Some other points; I notice some misspellings in your post. I don't want 
to turn you off with pedantry, but little things like that really trip 
parents' triggers. It shows that you are willing to ignore details in order 
to reach a goal, and that kind of inattention CAN kill you when you are 
working with high voltages. You need to work on that not just to increase 
her confidence in your abilities, but for your own benefit.

   There's the fact that somebody named "margaret louise" is interested in 
Tesla coiling as well; this is commonly regarded as "men's turf" for no 
apparent reason, and if your mom's politics are on the Liberal side, 
there's always the "breaking the glass ceiling" angle. It's even true, 
since there AREN'T that many females who like to do this.

   Will this be a one-girl show, or do you see others your age being 
involved? If you can show that your friends are learning as well, that can 
help (if their parents can be similarly calmed, of course). There are Tesla 
coiling clubs; have you thought of joining or even starting one?

   You also might want to show your mom the posts on this list and walk her 
through the pupman website to help her understand that you are not really 
on your own even if she doesn't see anyone looking over your shoulder and 
offering advice as you work. You have the benefit of decades of others' 
experience on tap, and not from just a bunch of wild-eyed amateurs either; 
serious, degreed Engineers from all over the world contribute here. We all 
want you to succeed so you can share in the fun, and will gladly do what we 
can to help.

   Mark L. Fergerson