ignorance

Tuesday night, my amateur astronomer husband dragged me to what I thought was going to be a dull university lecture on astronomy or advanced cosmic theory and such.

As it turned out, the talk was given by an Astrophysicist, but the Astrophysicist in question is the incredibly entertaining Neil deGrasse Tyson (who you may know from Nova’s Science NOW, various Discovery Channel programs). And the topic wasn’t Astronomy, or even Astrophysics… it was something far more dear to my own heart: Scientific Literacy.

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On his way home from work last night, my significant-whosiwhatsit  stopped by the local Walmart for a few necessities (like, say, food).   As he walked out of the store (carrying bags of Fritos, bean dip and coffee) he encountered the usual gaggle of young Walmart employees who we’ve become accustomed to seeing taking their breaks just outside the main door. 

As he stepped past the clean-cut group, one of them looked up at the sky, puzzled, and pondered.

"Why do you suppose only half of the moon is visible tonight?"

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