Clever Uly

The other day I was watching a show where one character was tutoring another in math. Uly passed through the room and overheard the show:

Show: It's simple, really. See, 'The bisector of a vertex is the line that divides the angle at that vertex into two equal parts.'

Uly: What are they talking about, Mom?

Me (a little dismissively, trying to pay attention to what I’m watching): Oh, nothing. Just some math prob…

Uly: Is it lines of symmetry?

Me (taken aback): Yes, Uly. Yes it is.

I was surprised, though I guess I shouldn’t have been, that Uly understood and was able to visualize what a couple of (fictional) high-school kids were talking about. That dialog went by fast! It’s the kind of line that I tune out—it’s white noise. It’s a reminder that kids hear and understand more than we realize sometimes.