Tough questions

Last night, I was Science Dad, fielding bedtime questions from the boys. Spud wanted to know how life got started and the Big Fella asked what happened before the Big Bang.

In both cases, I gave them a simple and easy answer: "We don't know."

But I also gave Spud a run down of potential explanations for life on Earth. And I walked the Big Fella through Hawking's ideas on the nature of space-time close to the singularity.

Too heavy for such young minds? I don't think so - I couldn't answer their questions but at least I was able to point their curiosity in the right direction. If they're interested, they'll look for the answers themselves.

I hope one day they will. They may not find the answers they're looking for, but that's not what really matters: simply looking is enough.