Young kids like to ask the question “why.” There’s a game most of them seem to love to play, and apparently it’s super duper fun for the kids, albeit considerably less fun for their parents.
The critical question is, why do we lose the curiosity as we age? There are several answers that we read in the books and media. To some extent, they are true: the educational system tries to build conformity, social and cultural norms, negative experiences, etc.
So, then, the next logical question is how adults can rekindle their sense of curiosity and wonder about the world.
I think some of the answers to this question are beginner’s mind, travel, reading widely, surrounding yourself with curious people, challenging yourself, reflecting and solitude, staying humble irrespective of how much you know about a topic as there is always something more to learn and limiting distractions.
However, some people can keep their curiosity forever. My father is a great example, and I owe him for my never-ending curiosity.
And that’s why I love the Royal Society's motto 'Nullius in verba' to mean 'take nobody's word for it' and Socrates quote “The more I know, the more I realize I know nothing.”
I think being willing to admit that we have huge gaps in our knowledge is one big key. I'm totally cool with that - I know full well and first hand that there are loads upon loads of things I know next to nothing about.
Finding that sense of wonder every day is so very important.
This is such a thought-provoking piece! I recently read that the average child asks a staggering 300 questions a day. It's amazing how curious they are about the world around them. As a parent, I try my best to answer all of my kids' questions (300 per kid, and I have 4! 1200 per day!), even when they seem endless. lol
It made me reflect on how we often lose that sense of curiosity as adults. I wish I could approach life with the same wonder and ask as many questions as my kids do. But let's face it, asking too many questions can sometimes be seen as annoying or even disrespectful.
That's why I'm so grateful for AI. It's like having a patient and knowledgeable friend who never gets tired of my questions. I can ask anything I want, explore new ideas, and satisfy my curiosity without worrying about judgment. It's a fantastic tool for lifelong learning!
Thanks for reminding me of the importance of asking "why." It's something I'll definitely keep in mind.
"Why" is probably the most important of the famous journalism questions (who, what, where, when, why, how) because it helps discover the motivation for actions, rather than stating facts as the others do.
Yes and no. I think you need the other questions first, so you can have the framework to ask why... but then again, you could probably circle back around and fill those blanks in by starting with why.
Maybe it's fair to say that the who/what/where/whens are necessary components to get to what you really want, the why.
Losing it comes down to a couple of things, I think. One is a desire for relief. From being constantly questioned the way we are as students in school. This is why we were so happy when Summer vacation arrived. And why so many people are so relieved when they graduate. Glad that's over!
Learning never really stops, of course. But wanting to escape the rigors of academia plays a role. How many people never read another book once they're done with school? A lot.
Second is cynicism. Getting older and watching the world change and leave us behind breeds all kinds of unpleasant thoughts and feelings. And it's easy to pull back and say thell with it.
Allowing distractions like the awful news cycle to embitter us is also a component.
We need to debug ourselves every year. Go crawl around in our mind routinely and regularly and find that moth and tape it into our notebook with a hearty chuckle.
Is there an app in the psychology and wellness space that's equivalent to CCleaner for PC?
I’m reading “The Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter. A lot of suggestions and areas of life to embrace more discomfort as a type of reset. Maybe something to consider if you’re not familiar with it.
I'm not sure about an app like this, but to me, it's all about finding wonder. Feynman utterly exudes this, and that's why I use him so many times as an example: he takes mundane things and transforms them into something magical, and all this by only using his mind.
When you get a sense of how powerful you are when you start to wonder how something works - and then you get that other type of wonder, the feeling of awe about something- that's everything to me.
You're spot-on about cynicism. People naively think they can't learn any more or improve themselves as a person, and that's actually tragic.
I remember one of the times I worked for IBM, they were on a “root cause analysis” kick. With every failure, you were supposed to keep asking “why?” until you got to the root cause of the failure.
I don't know. It's a huge organization, and all I ever saw was my own little bitty place in it.
We had no failures in my area during my time there, so I never saw the results of their rigorous "RCA" (Root Cause Analysis) policy. But what I read, made sense to me.
It's pretty intuitive and I would imagine it worked well, even in a behemoth like IBM, but I'm always curious to hear from "boots on the ground", so to speak.
I think I must have written about IBM a handful of times by now. It seems like they were one of maybe 5 or 6 incredibly important companies that arose during the 20th century that continue to shape our lives in profound and unexpected ways today. Like AT&T, IBM was able to do some actual cutting edge science in addition to all the logistical stuff you expect from today's big tech companies.
I like the why part. There must be an empty room for doubt. If there isn't any doubts in anything, then no one is growing and nothing grows no-why circumstances.
I'm not saying the other things aren't important. After all, they have to be determined before the "why" to provide the right context. But, as I said, knowing the motivation for the action makes everything else set in place.
As for the Bud Dry ad campaign.....I sense the ad agency involved went a little too introspective! Have you ever noticed how many ads there are that simply have a tag line that does nothing more (or other) than begin with the word, "Because"?
The implication is that the consumer/viewer will be internally asking themselves, "Why on earth would I buy such a product?" Ad agencies have short-cut that inner monologue by making it a dialogue, and gently informing the prospective customer that they've already "heard" or understood their query!
"It's here! The brand new (insert the useless product of your choice)! Because, life's too precious........etc" or "Because, you can't afford to be without it!" or "Because you only go around once in life!" ad (or, should I say commercial?) infinitum.................
Indeed! it's almost as though they are saying, "Why ask why? What are you, nuts? Stop thinking so much and just give me all your money already!"
And, you know how email scammers will infamously make lots of obvious grammar and spelling mistakes, since they're not exactly trying to take advantage of educated folks? This makes me feel like they were only targeting dummies with their message campaign.
Certainly not! There's often only one right answer for a problem or question, but dozens or hundreds of wrong answers to those same questions. An answer does not necessarily mean understanding.
From my perspective, answers seem to be in the realm of judgement. Understanding seems more in the realm of relationship. For example, the answer to a question like, “Why are you angry?” May be right or wrong, still it contributes to the questioner coming to a fuller understanding of the one who answers.
It's all about how you define "answer" or "understanding." I think the correct answer to whether the universe is expanding or not is yes, for instance, and that implies at least a cursory level of understanding. I generally understand that the universe is expanding, so one answer to the question as to whether it's expanding is "yes, it is, and here's how we know."
It really depends on what we each think those words mean.
Given humanity’s track record on knowledge of the universe, I might answer, “maybe”, based on current knowledge. Answers/certitude often result in a “defend the flag” perspective until a newer/stronger answer knocks the defenders from their pedestal. “Rinse, repeat…”
I think my answer to everything is always "maybe."
Everything slides on a scale of certainty, where nothing is 100% certain, but some thigs are more certain than others. I truly think that's the only reasonable way to approach observation: we need to be ready to be convinced that we're wrong if enough evidence points that way.
I have always been a curious child, I would almost say extremely curious. And they still are today. I don't know if age makes us lose curiosity, it hasn't happened to me, but I certainly know that keeping it alive is tiring and requires different types of time: to stimulate it, to satisfy it, to expand it. However, the why is in my opinion fundamental in our lives. I am passionate about scientific research in general and in particular in my newsletter I write based mainly on researchers' papers regarding AI-human relations. I also do it because researchers have asked themselves the why of many things and for me sharing that knowledge and this evidence is very important, both for those interested in these topics and not. The why is at the essence of curiosity, science and sharing. And we should probably train ourselves to say it more often if we're not used to it.
The critical question is, why do we lose the curiosity as we age? There are several answers that we read in the books and media. To some extent, they are true: the educational system tries to build conformity, social and cultural norms, negative experiences, etc.
So, then, the next logical question is how adults can rekindle their sense of curiosity and wonder about the world.
I think some of the answers to this question are beginner’s mind, travel, reading widely, surrounding yourself with curious people, challenging yourself, reflecting and solitude, staying humble irrespective of how much you know about a topic as there is always something more to learn and limiting distractions.
However, some people can keep their curiosity forever. My father is a great example, and I owe him for my never-ending curiosity.
And that’s why I love the Royal Society's motto 'Nullius in verba' to mean 'take nobody's word for it' and Socrates quote “The more I know, the more I realize I know nothing.”
I think being willing to admit that we have huge gaps in our knowledge is one big key. I'm totally cool with that - I know full well and first hand that there are loads upon loads of things I know next to nothing about.
Finding that sense of wonder every day is so very important.
Nullius in verba. Amen to that!
This is such a thought-provoking piece! I recently read that the average child asks a staggering 300 questions a day. It's amazing how curious they are about the world around them. As a parent, I try my best to answer all of my kids' questions (300 per kid, and I have 4! 1200 per day!), even when they seem endless. lol
It made me reflect on how we often lose that sense of curiosity as adults. I wish I could approach life with the same wonder and ask as many questions as my kids do. But let's face it, asking too many questions can sometimes be seen as annoying or even disrespectful.
That's why I'm so grateful for AI. It's like having a patient and knowledgeable friend who never gets tired of my questions. I can ask anything I want, explore new ideas, and satisfy my curiosity without worrying about judgment. It's a fantastic tool for lifelong learning!
Thanks for reminding me of the importance of asking "why." It's something I'll definitely keep in mind.
Yes, 100%! I think you've touched on my "drunken octopus" thesis as well:
https://goatfury.substack.com/p/why-is-this-octopus-drunk
"Why" is probably the most important of the famous journalism questions (who, what, where, when, why, how) because it helps discover the motivation for actions, rather than stating facts as the others do.
Yes and no. I think you need the other questions first, so you can have the framework to ask why... but then again, you could probably circle back around and fill those blanks in by starting with why.
Maybe it's fair to say that the who/what/where/whens are necessary components to get to what you really want, the why.
Losing it comes down to a couple of things, I think. One is a desire for relief. From being constantly questioned the way we are as students in school. This is why we were so happy when Summer vacation arrived. And why so many people are so relieved when they graduate. Glad that's over!
Learning never really stops, of course. But wanting to escape the rigors of academia plays a role. How many people never read another book once they're done with school? A lot.
Second is cynicism. Getting older and watching the world change and leave us behind breeds all kinds of unpleasant thoughts and feelings. And it's easy to pull back and say thell with it.
Allowing distractions like the awful news cycle to embitter us is also a component.
We need to debug ourselves every year. Go crawl around in our mind routinely and regularly and find that moth and tape it into our notebook with a hearty chuckle.
Is there an app in the psychology and wellness space that's equivalent to CCleaner for PC?
I’m reading “The Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter. A lot of suggestions and areas of life to embrace more discomfort as a type of reset. Maybe something to consider if you’re not familiar with it.
I'm not sure about an app like this, but to me, it's all about finding wonder. Feynman utterly exudes this, and that's why I use him so many times as an example: he takes mundane things and transforms them into something magical, and all this by only using his mind.
When you get a sense of how powerful you are when you start to wonder how something works - and then you get that other type of wonder, the feeling of awe about something- that's everything to me.
You're spot-on about cynicism. People naively think they can't learn any more or improve themselves as a person, and that's actually tragic.
Of course there is an app! It might be called contemplation or stillness.
I remember one of the times I worked for IBM, they were on a “root cause analysis” kick. With every failure, you were supposed to keep asking “why?” until you got to the root cause of the failure.
Hey neat! Was this an effective approach for IBM?
I don't know. It's a huge organization, and all I ever saw was my own little bitty place in it.
We had no failures in my area during my time there, so I never saw the results of their rigorous "RCA" (Root Cause Analysis) policy. But what I read, made sense to me.
It's pretty intuitive and I would imagine it worked well, even in a behemoth like IBM, but I'm always curious to hear from "boots on the ground", so to speak.
I think I must have written about IBM a handful of times by now. It seems like they were one of maybe 5 or 6 incredibly important companies that arose during the 20th century that continue to shape our lives in profound and unexpected ways today. Like AT&T, IBM was able to do some actual cutting edge science in addition to all the logistical stuff you expect from today's big tech companies.
This immediately reminded me of this ancient Louis CK bit: https://youtu.be/Tf17rFDjMZw?si=fJP8re_UWx6yUFfN
My problem with kids is that I always skip to the french fries.
I like the why part. There must be an empty room for doubt. If there isn't any doubts in anything, then no one is growing and nothing grows no-why circumstances.
I'm not saying the other things aren't important. After all, they have to be determined before the "why" to provide the right context. But, as I said, knowing the motivation for the action makes everything else set in place.
As for the Bud Dry ad campaign.....I sense the ad agency involved went a little too introspective! Have you ever noticed how many ads there are that simply have a tag line that does nothing more (or other) than begin with the word, "Because"?
The implication is that the consumer/viewer will be internally asking themselves, "Why on earth would I buy such a product?" Ad agencies have short-cut that inner monologue by making it a dialogue, and gently informing the prospective customer that they've already "heard" or understood their query!
"It's here! The brand new (insert the useless product of your choice)! Because, life's too precious........etc" or "Because, you can't afford to be without it!" or "Because you only go around once in life!" ad (or, should I say commercial?) infinitum.................
Indeed! it's almost as though they are saying, "Why ask why? What are you, nuts? Stop thinking so much and just give me all your money already!"
And, you know how email scammers will infamously make lots of obvious grammar and spelling mistakes, since they're not exactly trying to take advantage of educated folks? This makes me feel like they were only targeting dummies with their message campaign.
Is understanding the same as having an answer?
Certainly not! There's often only one right answer for a problem or question, but dozens or hundreds of wrong answers to those same questions. An answer does not necessarily mean understanding.
From my perspective, answers seem to be in the realm of judgement. Understanding seems more in the realm of relationship. For example, the answer to a question like, “Why are you angry?” May be right or wrong, still it contributes to the questioner coming to a fuller understanding of the one who answers.
It's all about how you define "answer" or "understanding." I think the correct answer to whether the universe is expanding or not is yes, for instance, and that implies at least a cursory level of understanding. I generally understand that the universe is expanding, so one answer to the question as to whether it's expanding is "yes, it is, and here's how we know."
It really depends on what we each think those words mean.
Given humanity’s track record on knowledge of the universe, I might answer, “maybe”, based on current knowledge. Answers/certitude often result in a “defend the flag” perspective until a newer/stronger answer knocks the defenders from their pedestal. “Rinse, repeat…”
I think my answer to everything is always "maybe."
Everything slides on a scale of certainty, where nothing is 100% certain, but some thigs are more certain than others. I truly think that's the only reasonable way to approach observation: we need to be ready to be convinced that we're wrong if enough evidence points that way.
That reminds me of Paul Simon’s lyrics: “The nearer your destination, the more you're slip-sliding away."
I have always been a curious child, I would almost say extremely curious. And they still are today. I don't know if age makes us lose curiosity, it hasn't happened to me, but I certainly know that keeping it alive is tiring and requires different types of time: to stimulate it, to satisfy it, to expand it. However, the why is in my opinion fundamental in our lives. I am passionate about scientific research in general and in particular in my newsletter I write based mainly on researchers' papers regarding AI-human relations. I also do it because researchers have asked themselves the why of many things and for me sharing that knowledge and this evidence is very important, both for those interested in these topics and not. The why is at the essence of curiosity, science and sharing. And we should probably train ourselves to say it more often if we're not used to it.
Well said, Riccardo!
Socrates used a similar approach by asking, "How do you know that?" in infinite regress. I know nothing.
Yes! I wanted to write about Socrates a bit as well, but length and time cut me off today.