Neil deGrasse tyson and the goblin magical defenses
One afternoon, Neil deGrasse Tyson, the famous astrophysicist known for his scientific knowledge and logical thinking, was taking a peaceful walk through a forest when he encountered a very angry goblin.
The little creature stepped into his path, raised his arms dramatically, and shouted, “Foolish mortal! You dare trespass upon sacred ground! You have no idea what dangers lurk within these enchanted woods!”
Neil calmly looked around at the trees and walking paths before replying, “This is a public park.”
The goblin gasped in outrage. “Well, I have a magical patch of dirt here! I swore on my life that I would protect it!”
Neil raised an eyebrow. “This is public property. You can’t simply claim ownership of a piece of it.”
“BUT IT’S MINE!” the goblin shrieked, his voice turning into an angry hiss. “That patch of dirt belongs to me, and I will defend it!”
He pointed a tiny finger at Neil and continued, “Since you refuse to understand, I shall create defenses around my precious patch of dirt! You should not be able to get past them. And if you do, and you threaten my land, I WILL CURSE YOU!”
With that dramatic warning, the goblin vanished into the trees.
Neil stood quietly for a moment, thinking about the creature’s repeated use of the word defenses. Then he shrugged and continued his walk, curious to see what the goblin had prepared.
About a mile later, he encountered an enormous wall stretching for miles through the forest. Its bricks glowed with magical fire, giving off so much heat that approaching them seemed impossible.
Neil quickly realized that this must be the goblin’s first defense. Yet, after examining the obstacle, he discovered that the wall was only impossible for goblins to cross. For an average-sized human, it was short enough to step over without difficulty.
Neil crossed it and continued walking.
Another mile down the trail, he came across the goblin’s second defense: a deep, terrifying chasm stretching across the forest. Its magical curse caused anything that dipped below ground level to freeze instantly, while anything falling into its seemingly bottomless depths would surely be shattered.
Once again, the obstacle appeared completely impossible to overcome.
But Neil examined the gap carefully and discovered the same flaw. The chasm was impassable only to goblins, and its width was narrow enough for an average-sized human to step across.
So Neil simply stepped over it and continued on his way, leaving the goblin’s elaborate magical defenses behind him.