The thing I miss most about my father is his wealth of knowledge on a lot of things. I can ask him a lot of questions about science, sports and current events. He explained aerodynamics and Bernoulli’s principle to an 8-year-old me when I asked why airplanes fly. We talked about metals floating and why an axe sinks in water but a huge ship floats. I laughed when he told me a story about Archimedes and his Eureka-moment. Conversations were always interesting with Papa so it prompted me to do some research on my own so I have something to share to him, too. The Internet was not invented then so I would go to the school library and search for answers to my own questions like “why does it rain?” or why the sky is blue. As I grew up, our conversations became more about living the best life.
Papa and a 5-year-old me
I am a lucky girl. With Internet, when my cousin asks me questions, I can just Google and I get answers. 😉 I wish I can give her smart answers from the top of my head but I can’t. She often asks me questions on her science assignments. I once complained, ” Haven’t you seen my college diploma? I am a math major. How are you doing with your math?” Then my aunt quipped, “ Hey, you come from a science high school.” Touché. Even things that pop in my head like why do cats purr? or what do the different dog barks mean?, I can easily search the answers. I understand why Encyclopedia Britannica had to stop printing but I still feel sad about the news. Hey, there is always the digital edition.
There are some questions I try not to answer and just direct people to their own Internet research. Questions like “why do guys cheat?” should be answered by experts. 😉
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