During his travels among the various states, Confucius encountered two children engaged in a heated argument.
He stopped and inquired about the subject of their dispute. The first child declared, "I believe the sun is closer to us when it first rises in the morning and farther away at noon." The second child countered, "I believe it is farther away at sunrise and closer at noon."
The first child elaborated, "At sunrise, the sun appears as large as a carriage canopy. By noon, it looks only as big as a plate. According to the principle that a distant object looks smaller and a near one looks larger, I am certain the sun is closer in the morning and farther at noon."
The second child argued, "It is cool when the sun rises, but hot at noon. For us to feel heat, the sun must be closer; when it is cool, it must be farther away."
Confucius found himself unable to decide who was right and ordered his carriage driver to depart.