What a Swimming Pool Taught Me About the Law
As I approach the age of superannuation, many of my friends are starting their countdown to retirement. My legal practice means I don't have to, but it offers no immunity from the arrival of 'slow killers' like blood pressure. My children worry about my growing lack of mobility, so my son persuaded me to try yoga. I gave it a shot, but scheduling got in the way. The next item on their 'get-dad-healthy' list was swimming. That simple suggestion, however, dredged up a lifelong fear. For nearly 60 years, two traumatic near-drowning experiences from childhood had fueled a persistent question: could my five-foot-ten frame, carrying the weight of nearly a quintal, possibly float? Thinking about it now forces me to revisit a forgotten high school lesson. The law of buoyancy, also known as Archimedes' principle, states that any object submerged in a fluid is acted upon by an upward force equal to the weight of the fluid that it displaces. I had completely forgotten this...