Question 96
MediumOriginal questionDadaji: What are you looking at?
Vivek: Nothing. Just a video.
Dadaji: Of what?
Vivek: A man in Norway catching a fish through a hole in the ice.
Dadaji: Is he catching it now?
Vivek: No, this was filmed last year.
Dadaji: I see. And before this, what did you watch?
Vivek: A dog that plays the piano. Well, sort of plays.
Dadaji: And before that?
Vivek: I don't remember, Dadaji.
Dadaji: (nodding) When I was your age, I spent a whole afternoon watching a man a fishing net by the river. I remember his name. I remember he the same song all the time, and that he gave me a piece of when he finished.
Vivek: That sounds boring.
Dadaji: It was very boring. I remember every minute of it.
Vivek: (puts the phone down) What was the song?
Dadaji: Walk with me to the market, and I'll sing it for you.
Why does Dadaji keep asking "And before that?"
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
Each question pushes Vivek further back, until he says "I don't remember".
Dadaji makes his point without lecturing: the videos pass through the mind and are forgotten.
Worth noting
Dadaji never raises his voice or scolds. He lets the questions do the work.
- Concept
- Inferring a speaker's method
- Typical timeTypical
- 45 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Poems and conversations, at your own pace.