When I picked up my tall, nonfat extra hot latte the other day, my favorite barista at *bucks told me that her four-year-old had just learned the word, "blustery." Appropriate for our part of the world, but pretty mind-boggling for a four-year-old to use.

Some years back, I picked our darling friend E up from school, then first grade. I asked her what they'd been learning about that day. "Viscosity," she said in her little chipmunk voice, using a term I don't think I learned until college.

When...