At least he predicted my success at being a failure. Yes ... sadly, as a child I had failure written all over me. The other kids did it with their biro pens.
And that's probably why as I grew up there are a lot of things I do not understand about science and technological things. Perhaps some of you, my readers, will be able to explain things to me.
For example, why is it that people are small when they are far away? And as you approach them they get bigger and bigger. Are they eating as you get near them and they grow fast? The same happens in animals when I am out in the countryside. They are small when far away and grow as they graze and come near me.
Now this leads to another mainly historical question. Was Napoleon a small man or was he always far away? If he was far away then how did his troops know what to do to follow his orders?
Another scientific question I have never understood. Why is the sky blue in the day time, when not cloudy, and dark at night? Some say it is the reflection of the sea. But the sea does not change colour from day to night. What about if you are away from the sea, like in a forest. Is the sky green there? Or yellow in the desert; and white in the polar regions?
How about sound and the travel of sound. If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it does it make a sound? I'm sure you've heard this question before; but do you know the answer? Sound is a wave which travels through the air, (and water), and eventually reaches your ear and it vibrates the ear drum and consequently, eventually, this vibration is interpreted by the brain and you hear the sound. But if there's no one in the forest then the wave will not reach any ear. Therefore the tree will make no sound.
Also, as I said, sound travels through air and water; but not in a vacuum. In a vacuum you will hear no sound of a tree falling; especially if the vacuum is switched on at the time or the dust bag is full.
Whilst we're on the subject; if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to see it; does it remain upright?
As a child, I always loved forests. There was one near where we lived. I used to get up early in the morning and run to the forest before the trees got there. They were always there first. Once when I got there someone had stolen the river; because it was all dry.
The universe is full of unexplained questions. For instance, if the universe is always expanding, as scientists tell us, then where is it expanding into? The universe is everything - this means all planets, solar systems, black holes, Star Treks and final front ears. So if the universe is everything, where is it expanding into? There must be something outside the universe for it to expand into.
Medicine is confusing too.
For instance, did you know that in Australia the DNA goes round the other way round than in the Northern hemisphere ... and it is spelled AND?
It's like water when it goes down the plug hole in your bath. In the Northern hemisphere the water goes round anti-clockwise. Whereas in the Southern hemisphere the water goes down the plug hole clockwise. In the Equator the water spurts right up and hits you in the eye!
Now you can see why all this scientific stuff is so confusing. I think education is a bad thing. It plays with your mind and makes you think. And a little thinking is bad because it makes politicians out of us. And see where politicians got us to.
I find science and math so interesting, thoughtful post today Victor.
ReplyDeleteThank you Christine.
DeleteGod bless.
You had me at your first line, Victor! As a child I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian or a pharmacist … before I realized both required lots of science classes. Math, science - they're both Greek to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'd given to have had my former teacher attempt to answer these questions!
I understand what you mean, Mevely. At school, even Greek was all Greek to me! The teacher did say I'd go down in history. I'll publish here some of my history lessons made-easy!
DeleteGod bless you.
Yes, I agree, Victor, that a little thinking can be a dangerous thing if it makes politicians out of us - they think they know it all, though, don't they?
ReplyDeleteI love all your speculative, and funny, questions here, too. I used to know why the sky is blue years ago, but have forgotten. Do I have to know that to be happy? Don't think so!
Blessings!
A clear cloudless day-time sky is blue because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than they scatter red light. When we look towards the sun at sunset, we see red and orange colours because the blue light has been scattered out and away from the line of sight.
DeleteHowever, and this bit is very important, the sky is dark or black at night so that we get the hint and go to sleep. A lot of people waste this night time by dancing, partying and doing other things instead of sleeping. The following day they find they have dark rings round the eyes as a reminder not to make the same mistake again.
I learnt all this from a science book which I am writing. So it must be true.
God bless you, Martha.
Good questions, now where can I find the answers. :) It is very interesting how the water drains differently in the northern and siuthern hemisheres. I never really thought about that so I did a search, weird but true. I learned something new today, thanks Victor!
ReplyDeleteI think, Bill, it works this way. If you stand upright on the North Pole, right at the top of the earth, you will spin round, very slowly, once every 24 hours, ANTI-CLOCKWISE. Because at that point in the North Pole the earth is spinning anti-clockwise.
DeleteIf you stand in the South Pole you will spin, again very slowly, CLOCKWISE.
The earth circumference at the Equator is is about 24,901 miles. Let's call it 24,000 miles.
The earth turns round once every 24 hours. So if I stand still at the Equator facing East I'd be travelling at 1000 miles and hour, (24,000 miles divided by 24 hours), and at that speed my wig would fly off. As I do not wear a wig, my hat would fly off. A woman standing at the Equator would have her skirt or dress fly up in the air like Marilyn Monroe. So my advice is to stay away from the Equator.
God bless you, Bill. Keep smiling.
Questions that I doubt can ever be answered. It takes a brilliant mind, Victor, to discover questions that can never be answered.
ReplyDeleteI guess so, Terri. Whose mind is that?
DeleteGod bless.
* sigh *
ReplyDeletei was never good in science or math. felt like such a loser, but I just couldn't get my brain wrapped around those concepts.
decades later I know why ... I didn't need to know all that stuff. because I really craved conversation and writing instead.
The thing is, Linda, they make science so difficult don't they? Like ... if you put something red in the washing machine you risk all your washing becoming pink. But if you put something blue, or green it does not happen to all the washing. Why is that?
DeleteGod bless.
I LOVE your streams of loose association! Some scientist should study THAT!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!
I think you're probably right. Right not left. Left behind is a terrible thing in life. Especially if I have a big behind. Which I haven't. Right? Right not left ... ... ... and so on. On not off ... ...
DeleteGod bless you, Lulu.
- - - about education and all that, 'I never let getting an education interfere with learning.' And that's another topic. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for - unique - look at science and the wonderful world of vacuum cleaner dust bags.
Thanx Brian. The vacuum cleaner scientific theory is true. If the vacuum cleaner is switched off you can hear a conversation very clearly. If it is on, especially when the football is on the TV, you cannot hear the commentary.
DeleteI have also today written a scientific post on Cosmology.
God bless.