I’m convinced that people can do anything they decide they can do. For example, I’m not good at math, and if you give me a difficult math problem I’m positive I won’t be able to solve it for you. But if you were to change the math problem into something I care about, such as Star Wars, I’m sure things would be different — a word problem calculating the speed at which the Death Star orbited the planet Yavin would be pretty awesome. I drive a Mazda Miata with a stick shift, and I love the car, driving it everywhere when I’m in San Diego. My Japanese wife cannot drive a stick, and refuses to get behind the wheel of my car because she’s sure she’ll end up stalled on a steep hill with cars behind her honking angrily. If only she’d decide that she could drive a stick, I’m sure she’d suddenly do much better, and if she could do that then maybe I could decide to be good at math, too.
(Incidentally, the Japanese word for a standard transmission on a car is “mission,” and so I tease my wife by saying “Mission: Impossible” to her, which is a really bad joke, but actually one of my better dajare gags.)
How long would the Death Star take to orbit Yavin traveling at 4000 mph?
