Assuming adults know that the moon is NOT an independent source of light?

[JustCri]

Just this really, I was on a playdate and one of the dads started questioning this...saying if it was reflecting sunlight, then if the sun is out while we see the moon, we would see a full moon and this afternoon we couldn't, as in only the side facing the sun was visible...

@JustCri peoples lack of understanding about the world will never cease to surprise. Everyone has different life and educational experiences so it’s polite to explain and help someone learn if they are receptive to it. I’m sure there are well known things that I’m ignorant to too…

Surely this is common knowledge. Even my teenagers know this.

Oh dear. People’s lack of understanding of the basic facts of the world around them never ceases to amaze me.

I didn't say anything I was speechless and not wanting to cause any tension..I just can't believe it more than anything...

Time to get out the orrery.

Tell him that you’ve heard that the cheese it’s made of tastes amazing but it’s so rare that only astronauts have tasted it.

Honestly, very little surprises me anymore. I live in a coastal community and found myself having to explain tides to a newcomer last year. They had no idea that tide times changed on a daily basis....

It’s in the y3 science curriculum that the moon reflects the light of the sun rather than being a light source, so 7/8 year olds have learned this. In y5 they learn about phases of the moon and why we see new/crescent/half/full moons etc. Maybe he could ask his child to explain it to him? 😂

It's hard to reconcile this when you know some people like this have had every possible privilege and access to education.

https://xkcd.com/1053

You need this comic - today the friend's dad got to learn something new. Tomorrow you might be the lucky person.

And I really want to make a volcano now...

Every time there’s one of those threads where people are sharing “things I only just found out” I despair. It’s not that people don’t know, it’s that they’ve never been curious enough to question these things.