麻豆影院

As 8-year-old Catherine Schwartz pondered the existence of mermaids, she decided to seek an expert opinion.

Scientist Cora Randall, chair of CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 atmospheric and oceanic sciences department, came through.

In June Randall received a letter from Catherine鈥檚 father, Eric Schwartz, relaying the girl鈥檚 question about whether mermaids were real.

鈥淪he said that her friends all said mermaids are real, but her parents said they are not real, and she wanted to know who was right,鈥� said Randall.

The professor was busy 鈥� but hardly too busy to take Catherine seriously.

鈥淓ven though there鈥檚 no evidence that mermaids are real,鈥� Randall wrote in her typed, one-page response, 鈥淚 hope you鈥檒l continue to imagine what could be. Keep asking questions and trying to understand whether something is true.鈥澛�

A CU faculty member since 1989, Randall said she wanted to encourage Catherine to look for scientific, evidence-based explanations without diminishing her sense of wonder.

鈥淭his seemed like such a natural question for an 8-year-old to ask that first I just wanted her to learn the answer,鈥� said Randall, an expert in satellite remote sensing of Earth鈥檚 atmosphere. 鈥淏ut I also wanted to avoid disillusioning her; I wanted her to keep wondering about all the mysteries of the natural world.鈥�

Catherine was thrilled to get Randall鈥檚 response, her father said, if also a little disappointed in the truth. But her enthusiasm for the mythical creatures hasn鈥檛 waned.

鈥淪he still loves mermaids,鈥� he said.

Illustration by Raphael Lopez