S01.E19: Gluons, Guacamole, and the Color Purple

[BlossomCulp]

On 4/19/2018 at 11:43 PM, Bobbin said:

It seems that both Georgie and Missy might have been much better students if they had gotten the attention and encouragement that Sheldon did. Instead they ultimately lived down to their parents' low expectations.

I don't know, Sheldon isn't the student he is because of any extra attention and encouragement on the part of his parents.  Far from it in some ways.  I don't disagree he is getting attention but it's not like Mary and George are actually capable of helping him scholastically!   In some ways Sheldon is being held back because his parents are flying by the seat of their pants in terms of how to deal with him and they don't have the financial resources to give him the real opportunities a kid with his abilities would benefit from.  I mean I totally get where Georgie and Missie are coming from, Sheldon is his Mom's "special little guy" (to quote Missie when she on Big Bang Theory)  but I really doubt they'd have done any differently in school if there had been no Sheldon.

One thing I was thinking about was that in some ways Missie and Georgie will grow up with more attention, on going, from their Mother than Sheldon will have.  As far as we know Sheldon essentially moves away from home (more or less) when he starts university and eventually moves to California by the time he starts at Caltech.  Missie and Georgie on the other hand live at home or,  at least as far as we're told, are living in the same town.  If Mary has a low opinion of Georgie as an adult he no doubt earned it!

Edited April 21, 2018 by BlossomCulp

[Bobbin]

6 minutes ago, BlossomCulp said:

I don't know, Sheldon isn't the student he is because of any extra attention and encouragement on the part of his parents.  Far from it in some ways.  I don't disagree he is getting attention but it's not like Mary and George are actually capable of helping him scholastically!   In some ways Sheldon is being held back because his parents are flying by the seat of their pants in terms of how to deal with him and they don't have the financial resources to give him the real opportunities a kid with his abilities would benefit from.  I mean I totally get where Georgie and Missie are coming from, Sheldon is his Mom's "special little guy" (to quote Missie when she on Big Bang Theory)  but I really doubt they'd have done any differently in school if there had been no Sheldon.

One thing I was thinking about was that in some ways Missie and Georgie will grow up with more attention, on going, from their Mother than Sheldon will have.  As far as we know Sheldon essentially moves away from home (more or less) when he starts university and eventually moves to California by the time he starts at Caltech.  Missie and Georgie on the otherhand live at home or at least as far as we're told are living in the same town.  If Mary has a low opinion of Georgie as an adult he no doubt earned it!

That wasn't my point. Mary and George apparently never did pay any attention to Georgie's schooling, before or after Sheldon, or to Missy's with Sheldon. They really don't put any importance at all on school, whether their kids are average or below average. They only pay attention to Sheldon because his brilliance plus his autism make him stand out and demand their attention. Georgie is only functioning at a 3rd grade level because of their indifference, and Missy is on the same track. The truth is, they rarely do anything to encourage Sheldon. Mary even tries to hold him back when she can, unlike his beloved Meemaw.

Intelligence can be influenced by upbringing. Children constantly exposed to new experiences and challenges nearly always test higher than those who never are.

[Gothish520]

9 hours ago, Bobbin said:

That wasn't my point. Mary and George apparently never did pay any attention to Georgie's schooling, before or after Sheldon, or to Missy's with Sheldon. They really don't put any importance at all on school, whether their kids are average or below average. They only pay attention to Sheldon because his brilliance plus his autism make him stand out and demand their attention. Georgie is only functioning at a 3rd grade level because of their indifference, and Missy is on the same track. The truth is, they rarely do anything to encourage Sheldon. Mary even tries to hold him back when she can, unlike his beloved Meemaw.

Intelligence can be influenced by upbringing. Children constantly exposed to new experiences and challenges nearly always test higher than those who never are.

I tend to agree with @BlossomCulp. A thirst for knowledge is innate, at least mine was. My parents were below average students and didn't go out of their way to encourage us to broaden our horizons, though they did encourage us to get good grades and rewarded us for As and Bs. But that was purely based on our school work, obviously - I learned much more by reading, and poring over atlases and encyclopedias in my spare time.

Edited April 22, 2018 by Gothish520

[BlossomCulp]

3 hours ago, Bobbin said:

Intelligence can be influenced by upbringing. Children constantly exposed to new experiences and challenges nearly always test higher than those who never are.

I am always a little uncomfortable with the idea that parents have that much ability to influence their children's intelligence.  Nurture what is there and give them every opportunity to excel?  Yes.  Actually make a kid smarter than he otherwise would have been though?  I don't know.  I guess my problem here is that when my kids were growing up I knew too many parents who insisted their kids were gifted when they weren't.  Bright, sure.  Gifted, no.  And all the flash cards and extracurricular activities in the world didn't give them kids who ended up doing any better in life then their friends who weren't being pushed to excel.  I suspect on YS they are making Missie and Georgie a little dumber than average just to accentuate how brilliant Sheldon is but they really don't have to do that. As Sheldon will be happy to tell you a brain like his comes along once in a generation!

[Bobbin]

1 hour ago, Gothish520 said:

though they did encouarge us to get good grades and rewarded us for As and Bs.

Sometimes that makes all the difference.

[Bort]

I don’t think it’s a matter of their parents influencing the other kids’ intelligence, it’s their education. Georgie and Missy are smart enough, but Georgie doesn’t seem particularly motivated to learn, therefore he ends up being ignorant of even the basics. We just saw in this episode where he didn’t understand something and was prepared to call it a wash, but when he changed his mind, he was able to read the assignment and figure it out. 

We haven’t seen Missy in a school environment at all so we don’t know what type of student she is in the classroom. 

[Gothish520]

12 minutes ago, Bobbin said:

Sometimes that makes all the difference.

I see your point there!

[SmithW6079]

5 hours ago, Bobbin said:

They only pay attention to Sheldon because his brilliance plus his autism make him stand out and demand their attention

Sheldon isn't autistic, as the creators have stated many times. 

As in "The Big Bang Theory," Sheldon is my least favorite character.

I loved the Georgie and Missy subplot; they were stand-outs.

I thought Connie with her hair down looked like a poodle. It was not a flattering look. Maybe men in her age group are few and far between, because I couldn't see her going out with the professor if Sheldon hadn't pushed so hard for it.

And I just realized the each episode title has three items, just like Sheldon knocks three times. 

[formerlyfreedom]

Seems like it's time for the reminder - discussion of what's happened in the 'future' on The Big Bang Theory doesn't belong in this topic. Please head to the TBBT vs Young Sheldon topic to cover that. Posts have been hidden; in the future, further steps may be taken. Thank you!

[CherryAmes]

On 4/13/2018 at 8:31 AM, hoodooznoodooz said:

Hmmm... not sure I’m crazy about Sheldon letting his mom know he doesn’t consider her smart.

I thought it was funny and I think Mary did too!  I didn't take it as Sheldon calling his mother or other family members stupid.  He was just being honest about himself.

On 4/20/2018 at 2:16 PM, ChitChat said:

I think Mary is so focused on how to help Sheldon because he can be such a challenge! George and Mary seem to be at a loss on how to navigate life with a little genius. It's a shame that Georgie and Missy end up playing second fiddle to him though.

It's so realistic that they do this.  Often there is one kid who gets more attention than the others and it's not because "Mom always loved you best".  Sometimes it's due to illness, sometimes it's behavioral, any number of reasons really.  I see it more in terms of children who are facing life threatening sicknesses.  This is extra hard on the other kids because coupled with a feeling of jealousy because little Billy gets so much of Mom and Dad's time comes feeling guilty because you're jealous!  I'm not sure though that Georgie and Missie are resentful of their parents spending more time with Sheldon though.  For one thing Georgie is involved with football so he has his Dad's attention there and for another I don't know if we're really seeing that Sheldon gets more attention - he gets a different kind of attention.  

I really liked Sheldon's dream sequences in this episode but I hope they don't overdo this.  A little bit is funny, too much would get silly.  I also loved the acknowledgement that Sheldon is beyond high school level at this point and by the end that he is also beyond entry level university physics courses as well.  Given his "life long trajectory" it makes sense that the show is starting to work on how they get 9 year Sheldon from freshman high school to getting a phd by 16!

[BlossomCulp]

3 hours ago, CherryAmes said:

I'm not sure though that Georgie and Missie are resentful of their parents spending more time with Sheldon though. 

I think the main reason we see the parents interacting more with Sheldon is because the show is called Young Sheldon!   I like that they are using the other two children more and that we're getting some insight into what it must have been like to grow up with a brother like Sheldon.  Like you though I don't think the show is telling us that Georgie and Missie are jealous of the attention Sheldon gets from their parents.  I think Georgie in particular is jealous that Sheldon is "special" - he'd be just as jealous if Sheldon was gifted in another area like music or sports.  Especially sports.  I really don't think though that Georgie actually wants more of his parents time and attention.  Missie is a bit different.  I'm still not sure what to make of her in terms of how she feels about Sheldon.  This episode made us think she feels stupid compared to him but she's a manipulative little thing so was she just trying to get Georgie to help or did she really mean it?

[Chit Chat]

As I've mentioned before, part of Georgie's problem is that he's got the typical teenage boy's angst.  He's really not interested in anything other than girls and sports at this point. Younger brothers and sisters are an annoyance at this age!

Quote

This episode made us think she feels stupid compared to him but she's a manipulative little thing so was she just trying to get Georgie to help or did she really mean it?

That's a good point!  Was she playing Georgie, or does she really feel that way?  IMO, I think that's how she really feels.  It was nice to see Georgie's reaction to her, real or fake hurt.  Either way, he stepped up and helped her, and I think he felt pretty  good about it when she got a 100 on her homework!  That gave him some confidence in being able to help his little sister.  

[TV Diva Queen]

On 4/20/2018 at 5:38 PM, Yeah No said:

Of course lots of people aren't academically inclined but even if not they aren't also necessarily that dumb either.  And I'm not talking just about being "book smart" either.  Sheldon doesn't just look like he's from a different family next to them, but a different planet.  I've never known siblings to be that far apart in intelligence unless one was born with a medical condition, but it's just a TV show I guess, not reality.  They're going for the biggest contrast for dramatic/comedic effect.

P.S.  I actually grew up around a lot of real life Sheldons.  I went to school with them, often knew their siblings, and none of them were as "dumb as soup" by far.  Most were almost if not as intelligent judging from the schools they got into and careers they pursued.  So maybe that's why I find this so unrealistic.

Same here... Way back in the early 80's, I knew a gal that went to Northwestern, straight A's and all the accolades that go with hit...problem was her big sister was at MIT becoming a rocket scientist.  NU gal didn't get any respect from her parents.  

[mojoween]

George - Georgie, Mary - Missy...and Sheldon.  

After the Professor was bedazzled by Meemaw and repeated himself three times I said aloud “well now I know that R divided by R is R” and my husband said “not always” aaaand I'm good with trying to figure out any physics.

Although, I must have missed something when Sheldon was explaining what he was doing at East Texas...what is a gluon?

[John Potts]

On ‎20‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 1:58 AM, Spartan Girl said:

I loved Georgie and Missy bonding over homework. Aw and he got her an 100%! Georgie really is a good brother.

That was so sweet, particularly when he stuck it up on his wall!

On ‎20‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 11:39 AM, Gulftastic said:

The purple bike was a smashing gift. I'd have given him a second date.

Wouldn't a tandem be more appropriate though?

On ‎20‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 11:13 PM, Katy M said:

Missy broke my heart when she said that line about thinking maybe she only looked stupid because Sheldon was so smart.  And, no I think she really was questioning that and thinking she was really stupid.  I know that Missy can be manipulative sometimes, but I absolutely believed that to be sincere.

I actually thought she showed decent reasoning when she went, "It doesn't seem like a sentence, but it could be the reply to a question - wouldn't it then be a sentence?" (which is a reasonable question - but the answer would still be no, since "Yes" or "No" could both be answers, though they aren't sentences on their own).

On ‎20‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 11:13 PM, Katy M said:

The professor was somewhat like Sheldon, but IMO, he was much better.  He didn't drive, but he didn't seem to expect other people to give him rides everywhere.  He road his bike to MeeMaw's. He was planning on paying for a cab.

He was like a mature version of Sheldon (yes, I know adult Sheldon is in his 30s now, but I'd never call him mature)! But I was disappointed he never got to say anything was "Inconceivable!"

[Bobbin]

I just saw this episode again as a rerun, and it's still my favorite. Georgie and Missy were adorable together. I don't know if Georgie cried when Missy got 100% on her homework and a smiley face, but I got dewy-eyed. I hope we see more of them together, supporting each other and finding their own way in a household so focused on Sheldon. Montana and Raegan are keepers.

Dr. Sturgis might be an adult Sheldon, with his genius and foibles, but unlike Sheldon, big and small, he's generous, completely unflappable and capable of showing affection and unbridled joy.

Edited December 16, 2018 by Bobbin
Corrected typos.

[MaryMitch]

11 hours ago, Bobbin said:

Dr. Sturgis might be an adult Sheldon, with his genius and foibles, but unlike Sheldon, big and small, he's generous, completely unflappable and capable of showing affection and unbridled joy.

I watched again too, and I kept thinking - especially at the end - how even though Dr. Sturgis is conventionally ugly, he is very sweet and charming. He must be pretty nice in real life because most of the times I've seen him he plays that kind of character. (Not including "The Princess Bride", of course!)  I hope he remains on the show.

[hoodooznoodooz]

On 12/16/2018 at 11:53 AM, MaryMitch said:

I watched again too, and I kept thinking - especially at the end - how even though Dr. Sturgis is conventionally ugly, he is very sweet and charming. He must be pretty nice in real life because most of the times I've seen him he plays that kind of character. (Not including "The Princess Bride", of course!)  I hope he remains on the show.

Many years ago, I saw Wallace Shawn walking up Seventh Avenue in Chelsea. He had a grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He looked like he was just enjoying the beautiful day.