DT4 - Ai and "why is the sky blue"?

DEVONthink
1

Reading this morning’s tip - something I always look at in case - and your comment “ the infamous why is the sky blue” you may be interested in the answer to one of my favourite questions why “sky”?

When the Vikings invaded Britain, they looked up at the upper atmosphere and seeing it overcast called it sky, the Old Norse word for cloud. In Old Norse mythology, above was known as the ‘abode of God”. Previously it had been known as haefon (heaven), derived originally from ‘conceal or cover’.

So really ‘blue sky’ is a contradiction in terms because if you cannot see any clouds then it isn’t sky.

3 Likes
2

I don’t know if it is the original ‘infamous “Why is the sky blue?” question’ but I’ve always associated it with Clifford Stoll’s classic Cuckoo’s Egg book:

“Clifford Stoll, in his book “Cuckoo’s Egg”, reports being asked why the sky was blue in an oral examination by Astronomy professors. Every time he thought he’d explained in sufficient detail, they would say “go on…” until he’d been talking for an hour on the topic.”

1 Like