Most questions are not the "what's two plus two?" kind.
Questions can have short answers, long answers, wrong answers, good answers, and better answers. Sometimes you find an explanation that is just part of an answer. Answers can be like stones on a pathway. As you follow the stones, you know a little bit more.
Many answers don't last forever. The questions are just waiting for a better information to come along.
Keep your mind open!
Imagine you're living seven hundred years ago. You're taking a test. You're writing on parchment, the dried skin of a sheep. (Most parts of the world don't have paper yet.) The teacher asks: "What shape is the Earth?"
Most people living then would answer: "A flat circle." Your teacher would probably mark you wrong if you wrote, "Sphere," or "Round like an orange."
But maybe have a teacher who is interested in exploring questions. He or she might ask, "So why do you think the Earth is round?"
And you might say, "Well, when I look out at the ocean, ships look like they're on the edge of the world. But I know they're not very
far away."
The place where the Earth looks like it meets the sky is called the horizon.
The higher you are, the farther you can see.
If your eyes are four feet from the ground, the horizon is 3 miles away for you!
"If the Earth were flat, I would be able to see things that are much farther
away."
Then you and your teacher might have tried to figure out the question together.
I've been tracking down the answer to one question for a long time. It's about spider feet! Click Next!
