Arcadian Moon

It was a quiet, crystal-clear summer night and the black sky was lit up with a beautiful, mystic Arcadian moon.  The Wizard, Sorcerer, Witch and Warlock spell casters convened to attempt to snatch and harness the full moon in the sky and place those wispy clouds behind it.  I watched as the clouds floated above the moon.  Thales of Miletus didn’t believe the codswallop that these conjurers and enchanters were selling to frighten the citizens of Arcadia, as he was a mission-driven optimist trying to confront big challenges and apply an evidence-based approach to show how the universe worked.  He told the people that the clouds are at most a few tens of thousands of feet away, while the moon is orbiting earth a few hundred thousand miles away.  Thales said the appearance of clouds going behind the moon is an optical illusion, as the light of the moon far brighter than thin clouds and that allows it to penetrate through the clouds.  The people understood the reason that made the clouds appear that they were moving behind the moon.  The light coming from clouds in front of the moon is negligible compared to the light shining through from the moon.

Thales wanted the people to abandon their fears of this dark magic that said evil spirits were making things happen, which was prevalent in Arcadia.  He told them that it only appears that the clouds are passing behind it, but in reality, the moon is much farther away, and the clouds are passing in front of it.  Clouds are not solid objects, they are made of water droplets, and there are many different types of clouds with different densities. Extremely thin clouds will allow all the moonlight through, but other denser, rain clouds, with more water in them, will not allow any of the light through, thus all of the clouds are always passing in front of the moon.  When Thales explained what was going on to the people, they all shouted, “Death to the spell casters.”  The Wizard, Sorcerer, Witch and Warlock looked to Thales to save them, but he said, “All magic comes with a price.”

Written for Sadje at Keep It Alive What Do You See #236.