There was a time, before Google, when dads could wax poetic about any topic and we had to take their word for it. Such as: If you don’t unplug every power cord before bed, the house might explode. Or: Confronting your enemy with great anger is the only way to vanquish them. Even: You’re more or less broke unless you have a few twenties folded inside your wallet. But now, we ostensibly know better—able to run their alleged wisdom against what Siri (or Alexa) has to tell us.
Or do we? That’s what we spent this week trying to figure out—asking five of our staffers to investigate how the most memorable piece of advice their fathers offered them stacks up against what they know now as adults—as well as the people they’ve become.
In other words, did daddy know best?
