Overheard a kid at the park explain why the sky is blue

I was sitting on a bench in Grant Park yesterday and this little girl, maybe five years old, was telling her dad the sky is blue 'because it's the ocean's mirror.' It was so simple and wrong, but it made me stop. I realized I've just accepted the real science answer for years without ever feeling that kind of wonder about it. When was the last time you heard something that made you question a basic fact you thought you knew?

3 comments

3 Comments

jennifer8335d ago

Wait, hold on, you were in Grant Park? I was there yesterday too, that's wild lol. But yeah, kids say stuff like that and it really does make you stop. We just memorize the real answer about light scattering and never really see it anymore. It's like we trade the cool wrong idea for a boring right one. That kid's ocean mirror thing is way more beautiful than the actual science, even if it's not true. Makes me want to look at stuff like I don't already know the answer.

jenny475d ago

Small world, we were probably a few feet apart and didn't even know it. You're totally right about how learning the right answer can kill the magic. It's like we get the facts but lose the wonder. That kid's idea is a good reminder to sometimes just let things be cool without picking them apart.

seth_shah5d ago

Trading the cool wrong idea for a boring right one" is a pretty harsh trade, isn't it?