27 May 2008 - geek parents

Geek parents! Good news! Children are evolutionarily programmed to pick up on the prevailing culture, so when your ankle-biter gets to the question-asking stage, all you have to do is act naturally.

squirt: Why is the sky blue?
geek parent: Because Rayleigh scattering goes as the inverse fourth power of wavelength. Actually, the sky is ultraviolet....

Non-geek parents! Fab new finding—technical accuracy is for weenies and wonks! The explanation is multi-purpose.

squirt: Why are all the garbage men black?
normal parent: Because Rayleigh scattering goes as the inverse fourth power of wavelength.