The Ocean Isn't Blue | NfJ #25

Hey {{first_name}}

My favorite realization from the past year is that your perception of reality is not reality.

Here’s my new favorite example:

If you ask someone what the color of the ocean is, what do they say?

Blue.

Of course, blue.

But what if it’s gray and overcast outside? Then the ocean looks gray.

Or what if you’re in the tropics and the ocean looks turquoise?

See, there’s already some inaccuracy when you say that the ocean is blue.

But let’s take it a step further.

What color is water?

It’s not blue, it’s clear.

What do you see if you fill a see-through cup up with ocean water?

You see clear water in a cup. Not blue, gray, or turquoise water.

So, how can the ocean possible be anything but clear?

Or is it even more nuanced that that?

Could you say that the ocean is blue, but the water in the ocean is clear?

I guess so.

Depends entirely on the perception of the person viewing it.

If you want to know what it’s like to live as a digital nomad, this is the one for you:

Last Week’s Learning

All learning videos can be found on my Instagram

Day 401 Why is a rainbow curved?

Day 402 What is the smell of rain?

Day 403 Why your weight can be misleading

Day 404 The origin of taking a “rain check”

Day 405 The OWL method

Day 406 What makes the ocean salty?

Day 407 Why you can’t take your own advice

From James
This past week I finished up my in person work for this year and started traveling again.

I started this year with 5 months in Asia.

For the past 4 months I have been doing road trips (on and off) around the United States.

My final road trip for the year was in Florida this past week.

Now I am in Mexico for a couple of weeks :)

It has been fun to practice speaking Spanish with native speakers, eat Mexican food, and explore the beach town I am in.

It has rained every day that I have been here so far, but today is sunny so I am going to the beach! To swim in the clear ocean 😉

See you next week!

- James