-| Rainbows and Treasures |-

While we typically perceive a rainbow as a 2D arc, it is technically an optical phenomenon shaped by a 3D geometry. A rainbow is not a semicircle or a full circle; it is actually a cone.  When sunlight hits water droplets, it refracts and reflects at a specific angle roughly 42deg – creating a cone of light that radiate towards your eye. Because you are the vertex (the point) of the cone, the rainbow literally cannot exist without your specific position in space.

This means that every person sees a unique rainbow cantered entirely on themselves. Even if you are standing next to a friend, the light reaching your eyes is coming from a different set of water droplets than the light reaching theirs.

The ‘treasure’ isn’t a pot of gold at a distant physical coordinate; the entire experience is a personalized alignment of light, water, and your own perspective, making you the essential centre of the display.

So, when you think about it, the treasure at the end of the rainbow was inside you all along!