It all began in childhood — of the question voiced; of the curiosity engendered; of the simple: Why? It applies to everything in the world, and it confounds parents and teachers, not only because the single word-question deserves an answer, but because it tests the knowledge — and patience — of the queried one. Age-appropriateness often determines the depth of the answer required; and the extent of curiosity uncovers the seriousness of the query itself. Why is grass green? Why do dogs bark? Why does rain drop from the sky? Some may answer every query with a nonsensical circularity just to get rid of the question, such as: “Just because that’s the way it has always been”. Of course, such an answer neither responds properly to the question, nor satisfies the child who asks the question, and as the child grows older, will either wither in his or her diminished enthusiasm of wonder, or go elsewhere to obtain a more satisfactory response. If a parent does not possess the knowledge to respond, the better answer would be: “I have often asked that myself! I don’t know the answer to that, but let’s go to a reliable source and find out, together, what the answer to that fascinating question is!” And with that question in hand, you can go to an encyclopedia, a dictionary, or some other source — from a hard copy of a book (wow — isn’t that an outdated thought!) to an online source of dependability — and satisfy a child’s wonder of curiosity. For, the reason why is always just the...
Kingspan has been fined 40 million by the European Commission for providing incorrect and misleading information during the EU’s 2021 review of its planned acquisition of rival building materials ...