Looking outside, Raveena says the wind is blowing very fast today, and guesses it's about 40 km/h
Looking outside, Raveena says the wind is blowing very fast today, and guesses it's about 40 km/h. Her father says the exact speed cannot be told just by looking. Who is right?
Who do you think is right? Pick one.
The answer: Her father is right
Why
Raveena's eyes are picking up something genuine — swaying trees and rattling windows really do tell you the wind is strong, and a rough sense of 'fast' versus 'gentle' is a real, useful skill. The trouble is asking an eye-estimate to give an exact number, which it was never built to do reliably — one person's 'very fast' might be another's 'quite strong', and neither is measuring anything precisely. Wind speed is actually measured with a specific instrument, an anemometer, which spins with the wind and converts that spin into an exact reading in kilometres per hour, the same way a thermometer gives an exact number for how hot something feels instead of leaving it to guesswork. Test: two people asked to guess the same gust's speed by eye will usually give two different numbers, while two anemometers placed side by side will agree almost exactly. Her father is right: 'fast' or 'gentle' can be judged by eye, but the specific number needs an instrument, not an impression.
On Socho, you explain your thinking out loud and a coach asks about YOUR reasoning — one question a day, free, in Hindi, Hinglish or English.
Try a question on Socho →More disagreements in Understanding the Weather