Human curiosity is a wonderful thing. As a species, we homo sapiens have evolved from knuckle-dragging omnivores to so-called civilized and complicated societies due to scientific exploration established to resolve the questions of the curious. The more we know, the more we know what we don't know, ya know?
I'm curious about a lot of things on a superficial basis. I can try to research certain health conditions on the Internet. Once I get past the articles posted in words an average 6th grader can understand, I need a medical dictionary to slog through the rest. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. That doesn't mean I won't keep looking; it just means that learning more may require time I don't particularly want to invest in the inquiry.
Is any question too insignificant to answer? Of course not. In fact, I used to try to disarm my students who were trying to de-rail my lesson plans by asking questions they knew I would answer. Distractions? Yeah! Truth is, I would evaluate how worthy the questions were before giving up the lesson plan in favor of a discussion more appropriate to the kids. I'm sure there were students who left my classroom feeling victorious that they got one over on the old lady. What they don't understand is that I always felt there were larger lessons to be learned from our impromptu conversations. Teachable Moments.
Okay...having said all of that, I need to impart a short conversation I had with my daughter online this morning. It was her first post to me of the day: "Just curious...have you ever counted the steps that robins make when they make their little runs?" Uh...no. I admitted that I haven't. Never even thought about it, actually. In fact, for a second, I thought I was being drawn into a trick question. I proffered a guess and asked if I won, not even knowing if there was an answer to How Many Steps Do Robins Make When They Make Their Little Runs? I mean, who asks about that? Who even thinks about it?? Obviously, my daughter. She has become a birder who, in a couple of years, has already outclassed my knowledge of birds because...well...HER birds in the PNW are not the same ones that we here in the Midwest have. Robins are universal, of course.
Apparently Megan's curiosity has caused her to start counting robin steps to see if they are consistent. She says they are. Six to seven steps per run. She wants to know if this is something instinctive with the species. I have no idea!
My first thought was, "Only Megan would think of that!" It really does fascinate me, however. My dear darling daughter is good at details. I'm just not. Meanwhile, there are so many other questions I would like to resolve:
*Do people who commit crimes ever think of the consequences before they offend?
*Do the insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6th ever consider how much they were used and then left out to dry by Donald Trump?
*How do Christians sleep at night if they aren't inclusive of our gay brothers and sisters?
*How can **I** sleep at night if I keep falling asleep on the couch hours before?
*How long does it take for the human body to adjust to one hour's time change twice a year?
*Do hummingbirds have favorite feeders when more than one is offered??
Inquiring minds need to know!
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