Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 2878

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The Daily Dormouse.
(aka Bike, est. 2007)
Part 2878
by Angharad

Copyright© 2016 Angharad

  
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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
*****

“What was the lesson that Sister Vag—Virginia was supposed to be teaching?”

“Science,” Livvie informed me.

“Evolution—only she makes it sound like God planned it all,” huffed Trish.

“Perhaps that’s what she believes.”

“But it’s wrong, isn’t it?”

“I believe so.”

“So there, I was right.”

“Trish, you weren’t listening.”

“Why, whatya say?”

“I said I believed her belief was wrong.”

“Yeah, so I was right.”

“Only in the eyes of my belief.”

“Yeah, but you’re a scientist, like a biologist.”

“Trish, there is no scientific evidence to support that there is a god.”

“Yeah, like I said.”

“There’s also none to prove there isn’t.”

“So?”

“So it is my belief there isn’t one and the theory of evolution works without one but over longer timescales than many can conceive. It takes millions of years for stages of it to happen and even then we don’t always find evidence as we’d like.”

“So you saying she’s right?”

“No, I’m saying you have to allow people to believe different things, especially if you can’t prove them wrong and it even that depends upon why you want to prove them wrong.”

“I want to prove she’s wrong.”

“I don’t think you can and if you could do you really want to make her like a silly old woman and yourself look like some vindictive monster?”

“Uh no, course not.”

“Because it looks like that is what you’re trying to do.”

“Oh,” she pouted. “I don’t want to hurt her even if she is wrong.”

“Look, darling, there are many ways to be right and wrong at the same time.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Mummy.”

“You can be factually correct—the earth goes round the sun—okay?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well when we look in the sky what appears to happen?”

“I dunno what appears to happen?” she looked quizzically at me.

“If the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, what appears to happen?”

“It gets dark?”

“No, what does the sun appear to do?”

“It goes across the sky but that’s only ’cos the world is spinning.”

“Right, so someone who didn’t know the earth was spinning in orbit around the sun, might think the sun revolved around the earth, because from an earthbound perspective, that is what appears to happen.”

“But they’re still wrong.”

“Yes, I know, but what do you gain by telling them?”

“You educate them.”

“Just because you know this stuff doesn’t make it true to someone else unless you can prove it in ways they can understand.”

“Without being able to take them up in a space rocket you can only prove it mathematically, which I know I can’t do. Aristarchus proved it back in ancient Greece but Copernicus was the first modern man to suggest it and he got it wrong, he thought the orbits of the planets were spherical and they’re not, they’re elliptical, which Kepler suggested but Galileo rejected, suggesting the tides proved the earth moved round the sun. He was wrong anyway, as the tides are affected by the moon, something which is very easily seen with spring tides and neap tides.”

“You’re so clever, Mummy, but surely the proof is easier. The sun is about 330,000 times heavier than the earth and 109 times its size. So gravity means the smaller planet goes round the bigger one.”

No wonder she frightens her teachers. “How did you measure them?”

“I’d look it up in an encyclopaedia.”

“Go and change,” smart arse.

I spoke to Jason and told him that I’d recorded the interview with my interrogators, though they’d have been unaware of it, but then they recorded me without telling me.”

“They can’t do that.”

“Just as well I did it then.”

“How did you get away with that?”

“I was doing something on the iPad when they arrived and switched on voice record by accident.”

“Of course.”

“Want a copy?”

“I better had in case I need to bail you again.”

“You make it sound like it’s a frequent event.”

“Compared to most university professors, it is.”

“So, I get involved in things.”

“Cathy, there are rumours circulating that he was enabling jihadists to get into the country. They also suggest alternately that he’s been secreted away by them or been killed by them.”

“Rumours—any smidgen of truth in them?”

“Cathy, whether there is or not, stay away from it, these guys are dangerous. One of them in Syria shot his own mother in the head because he believed she was betraying their cause.”

“Nice people.”

“Exactly, so keep well away from it, let the security services deal with it—they get paid for it, you don’t.”

“D’you seriously think we’re in danger in this country?”

“The experts seem to think so.”

“Yes but they enhance their budgets by suggesting were under threat, they also enhance their power. They say they’ve stopped so many terrorist plots but we rarely hear any details. How do we know they’re not just making it up?”

“We don’t, except I know one or two people at or near the top and they are nobody’s fool.”

I shrugged although he wouldn’t be able to see it, like nodding or shaking one’s head. “Okay, I shall try to keep my distance. We had some guy call round to the department saying he’d paid O’Connor to get his son into the country but the son had never shown up. He wanted to know where his son was.”

“Why did he come to you?”

“O’Connor told his secretary that I was in on the enterprise and would deal with queries in his absence.”

“Hence the visit from the plod earlier. He’s got a nerve hasn’t he?”

“So have I and he’s getting on it.”

Jason laughed at this then after advising me not to get involved, rang off. Danielle came down to see me, she’d changed into her old clothes and applied another ten coats of mascara. “Hello, darling.”

“Mummy, this guy that’s washed up in the harbour or wherever, isn’t the one they found in your car, is it?”

“I have no idea, but I doubt it, why?” It probably was but I didn’t want her to know that.

“I just wondered.”

“I think James has some agreement with the authorities about dealing with bodies.”

“Oh, okay. Will I be able to play soccer for the school on Saturday?”

“I don’t see why not, what about Portsmouth ladies and England ladies?”

“Portsmouth are resting me and England seem to have gone quiet for the moment.”

“I’m sure it will all sort itself out, you’re one of their best players so they’d be silly to leave you out for long.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

My phone peeped indicating a text. It was from James, he was on his way to see me and Tom was coming as well.”

“Gramps is on his way home.”

“Oh that’s good to hear.”

“What did David say was for dinner?”

“I dunno, I’ll go and ask him—bet it’s bloody cottage pie again.”

As he makes the most amazing cottage pie, I don’t care and Simon will want to kiss him, he loves cottage pie.

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Comments

cottage pie

Maddy Bell's picture

With real cottage? Or is it actually Shepherds Pie without any flock?

I think I followed this chapter but i'm not sure - I got a bit lost around Galileo but after a trip around the one way system, think I got back onto the right track - or rather the left fork.


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Madeline Anafrid Bell

At least the pie didn't

At least the pie didn't include real shepherds in it!

I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime

I think ...

... shepherd's pie is made with lamb or mutton and cottage pie with beef. Both have a 'crust' of mashed potatoes. The cottage pie I used to make had no meat in it all :)

Robi

Not sure what you would call

our version of Cottage Pie , Instead of the mashed potato topping we replace it with mashed swede and carrot, You can stick some grated cheese on it as well if the fancy takes you....

Kirri

And another varient

Ours this last weekend was pork mince with mashed sweet potato on top.

Love, Bev xx

Danni acting like a typical

Danni acting like a typical teen, complaining about healthy food that the adults enjoy. Cathy should be happy she let things go without thinking too closely at the coincidence or calling Cathy on her claim. If it was Trish...well Cathy might be there all night explaining things.

Poor Trish got another educational smackdown thanks to Cathy but I hope Cathy is able to settle things with the good headmistress because at this point I swear Sister Virginia is trying to provoke Trish at times knowing her short temper for zealotry.

I'm told STFU more times in a day than most people get told in a lifetime

I wonder

Wouldn't be the first time a teacher provoked a student to learn things

Tom must know -

more than he's letting on and I'd be wary of receiving a text declaring their intentions to return home. few phones are 'hack-proof'.

Still lovin' it.

bev_1.jpg

Not so easy now.

In the early days of mobile phones we used to listen in at work in lunch breaks using a conventional communications receiver just for amusement because we could only hear one side of the conversations. It's much more difficult with digital technology.

Robi

Cumberland pie

Rhona McCloud's picture

If only the Cameron clan ever had any bread left over they could have Cumberland pie. My experience of teenagers is that any move to introduce a healthy diet is treated as an attempt to poison them.

Rhona McCloud

I loved the way that discussion went.

I feel the earth has been visited by beings not native to Earth. They therefore came in UFOs. But keep in mind, If a Spitfire flys overhead and we don't recognize it as a Spitfire, it therefore is a UFO. From that some could argue, that non-Earth beings came here in Spitfires. Since on at least one occasion,a Spitfire was a UFO.
It's been said, I've given at least one person headaches.;-)

Cefin

Youthful Exhuberance

I am glad that Cathy is trying to guide Trish's impulses a bit. The very faithful are often offended if we do not tow the mark exactly as they believe, though I seem able to mingle with all types without too much difficulty. Often the days wearing my Niqab are the simplest. Functioning in several different cultures it is often easier to just dress like a duck when with ducks.

I am happy to see that Tom survived all this ruction.

I am very certain that there is an organizing influence in the Universe, but doubt that they will ever be pleased unless I call it God or Allah SWT. In the end, it is humanity that is being wound up, I believe.

Gwen

Douglas Adams has it

Trish and Cathy's discussion on evolution reminds me of Douglas Adams play on logic and proof in HHGG,

“Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as the final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God.
The argument goes something like this: "I refuse to prove that I exist,'" says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," says Man, "The Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED."
"Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.
"Oh, that was easy," says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing.”

I'm pleased my faith is stronger than my logic!

Thanks for your writing Angharad

Teenagers!

Christina H's picture

I love the discussions Cathy has with Trish it takes me back. I once lost an argument with a 4 year old about her loosing her milk teeth - she was adamant that because she brushed properly she wouldn't loose her milk teeth like her sister. And the scary part was her argument though flawed was logical.

Christina