Alistair stared at him. He blinked. And some of it was an act, absolutely, but he had an image to keep up and so what he said was, "I have no idea what ice skating is. Or physics. Or a barometer. This all sounds like mage stuff to me, and most of what I was taught when it came to mages is how to know when their magic has gone too far and how to cancel it out.

"So I have to say I'm very sorry that you had to take the time to explain all that because I don't think I'm any better educated than I was when you started. You must be from somewhere with more... either magic or just knowledge."

Except he could see the wisdom in figuring out something like 'if the clouds have been looking like this lately, there's a good chance it'll rain' -- except he did live in Ferelden, where three out of the four seasons rained.