I looked at my nephew, three, as he sat on the floor engrossed in Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. He appeared to be deep into chapter 5, "The Priority of Paradigms." I glanced at his mother, my sister, who stood behind him. She answered the question my face was obviously asking.

"He does this. He wants to read so badly, he holds books open in his lap and stares at the pages. He imitates us. Notice his rapt concentration, the furrowed brow. He tries to look like he understands."

I smiled wistfully. "He reminds me of me."

"Oh, did you do that too? I don't remember that."

"No, I mean he reminds me of me right now."

"..."