As a father of a curious three-year old, I know how hard it is to answer "why" questions, beyond a certain point. Just recently, I had the following conversation with my daughter.
Her: "Why is the cow eating with her mouth?"
Me: "Because she does not have any hands."
Her: "Why does the cow not have hands?"
Me: "Hmmm. Because God did not give her hands." (I shamelessly invoke God all the time)
Her: "Why did God not give her hands?"
Me: "I don't know. Go ask God!"
I bumped into the following Feynman video, in which an interviewer asks him "why do magnets attract/repel each other?" Feynman goes on about how difficult it is to answer such why questions without a framework.
Worth a watch!
Her: "Why is the cow eating with her mouth?"
Me: "Because she does not have any hands."
Her: "Why does the cow not have hands?"
Me: "Hmmm. Because God did not give her hands." (I shamelessly invoke God all the time)
Her: "Why did God not give her hands?"
Me: "I don't know. Go ask God!"
I bumped into the following Feynman video, in which an interviewer asks him "why do magnets attract/repel each other?" Feynman goes on about how difficult it is to answer such why questions without a framework.
Worth a watch!
Too soon to invoke evolution?
ReplyDeleteIf only to avoid the "whys" that that would spawn.
ReplyDelete