"Dad, how many years do you think the Earth has existed?" Sheldon, who had learned about carbon dating, chatted with his father, who was driving.
"It must have been a very long time, probably billions of years," George replied after a moment of thought.
"Very good, it seems our understanding is the same." Sheldon explained, "Actually, the Earth has existed for over four billion years."
"Has it been that long? Then it's truly an old antique," George said, indicating he had learned something new.
"I asked Mom this question too, but she firmly believes the Earth has only existed for over six thousand years and was created by God." Sheldon shook his head slightly, as if lamenting his mother's ignorance.
Then, he continued to ask, "Dad, do you and Mom usually talk about these kinds of things? And when you have disagreements, how do you handle them?"
You know, the hardest thing in the world is probably convincing someone who has a different point of view.
"No, your mother and I don't talk about those kinds of things. And if we have disagreements, I choose to give it the cold shoulder and let time smooth it over," George said nonchalantly.
"That's truly terrifying." Sheldon couldn't imagine what a disaster it would be for two people with different ideologies to form a family.
Immediately, he looked at his father sympathetically and said, "You've made me afraid of marriage. I don't think I'll ever marry someone with different ideologies."
"Who knows? Some things aren't up to you to decide," George said with the tone of someone who had been there before. "So, never say never—"
"Strictly speaking, you just said 'never' twice in a row." Sheldon's focus was always different from ordinary people.
George, who was about to impart some life wisdom to his young son, was choked by his son's nitpicking.
Then he sighed helplessly and lost the mood to chat.
Normally, George should have been lying on the sofa at home today, drinking beer and watching football.
Because it was already the end of the year, with only a little over two months until next year's Super Bowl.
As America's most fervent event, the Super Bowl was already starting its warm-up activities on television.
...
"Here, Sheldon. I'm done." When the car arrived at the Natural History Museum, Mike finished reading the carbon dating magazine he held.
Because it was a brochure, the magazine wasn't very thick. Similarly, there wasn't much specialized knowledge in it.
However, for Sheldon, the value of this specialized magazine was still very high.
He carefully put away the magazine before following George and Mike into the Natural History Museum.
This Natural History Museum, located in Texas, covers a large area and has a long history.
In the center of the exhibition hall, one could see realistic specimens of prehistoric animals such as mammoths and saber-toothed tigers.
"Whoa! This big guy is really big. If it were used for meat, it probably wouldn't be finished in a year." George couldn't help but exclaim as he saw the huge dinosaur skeleton in the center of the exhibition hall.
"These are precious prehistoric animal specimens, not for people to eat..." Sheldon rolled his eyes. He felt his father's current behavior was embarrassing.
This feeling grew stronger when he saw visitors to the museum looking their way.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything." Seeing his young son's disgusted expression, George shrugged. Then he asked, "Where is the lecture?"
It seemed he also wanted to quickly send his young son to his destination and then enjoy his weekend.
After all, being with the constantly nitpicking Sheldon made George a bit uncomfortable.
Next, the three of them followed the directions in the brochure and found the museum's lecture hall.
There weren't many people in the spacious lecture hall yet. So, Sheldon easily occupied the advantageous listening position in the middle of the front row again.
Upon entering, Mike scanned the surroundings and, not seeing Paige, casually sat next to Sheldon.
"You two stay here for now. I'll go wander around outside. I'll pick you up after the lecture." George wasn't interested in the science lecture. On the weekend, he just wanted to relax comfortably.
"Mike, help me keep an eye on Shelly and make sure he doesn't make a fool of himself." Before leaving, George was still a bit worried about his young son.
In terms of "causing trouble," Sheldon had a unique talent.
"No problem." Mike nodded, accepting the request.
"Shelly, I'll be right by the door. If you have any problems, you can come find me." George, still worried, reminded his young son again.
"Didn't someone say they were leaving? Why aren't they moving?" Sheldon seemed annoyed by his father's nagging. And he also disliked being treated like a child by the other party.
Again choked by his young son's words and stared at with a look of disdain, George shook his head speechlessly and quickly left the lecture hall.
Meanwhile, in the lecture hall, as the lecture time approached, listeners gradually trickled in.
Most of these people were middle-aged, in their thirties or forties. However, this was understandable; young people might not be as interested in the "antiquities" within natural sciences.
"Are you waiting for someone?" Sheldon, who was re-reading the brochure, noticed Mike's distracted behavior and his frequent glances towards the door.
"Yes, if nothing goes wrong, you'll see her soon," Mike said with a smile.
You see, every time Sheldon and Paige met, there was a high probability of a burst of intellectual main attributes.
This was a good thing for Mike.
"How do I not know you have friends who like natural sciences?" Sheldon asked in surprise, seeing Mike's confident expression.
"You'll know in a bit. You two are acquaintances," Mike said with a hint of mischievousness.
"Hearing you say that, we all know the person coming." Sheldon thought for a moment, and his expression gradually changed. He had a bad premonition: "That person, it wouldn't be Pa..."
Just as Sheldon was about to guess the correct answer, Paige, who had just entered, was pleasantly surprised to see Mike in the front row.
"Mike? What are you doing here?" Paige walked with cheerful steps to the first row.
"This is such a coincidence!" she said, surprised.
Through their previous interactions, Paige had already considered Mike a good friend.
The little girl, thinking this was a chance encounter, was naturally very happy.
"It truly is a coincidence~" Mike said with a smile, greeting the little girl.
Today, Paige was wearing a pink denim overalls dress, looking both cool and cute.
She walked around Sheldon and sat on Mike's other side.
It wasn't until she sat down that Paige seemed to notice Sheldon, who was one seat away: "Sheldon, you're here too?"
"Yes, I'm here to listen to the carbon dating lecture." Sheldon straightened his back and answered meticulously.