Ever been surprised by a brainstorming yet silly question by a kid? Children ask strange questions, which could either prove meaningless
to grown-ups or can put us in deep thought. Curiosity is an inherent
human tendency. Somehow children seem to be more curious than elders. Curiosity tends to degrade with age.
The purest and uncontaminated thought is the thought of
a child. It is not dominated by perception but by insight. It is said that a
child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer. They see, they question and understand things in their own way. They drop a glass on the floor
and learn the basic concepts of gravity. They play in water and learns the concepts of volume and buoyancy. Everything that is new and uncommon fills them
with surprise, raises their imagination and gives them an idea which never
existed before.
Curiosity is the root of all inventions. Great scientists as
you can see were all curious characters. Thomas Alva Edison was a very curious
child. When he was born there was no electricity.
When he died the entire city was lit by electricity. That’s the power of
curiosity.
Curiosity, the mars rover itself was named by an 11 year old
girl. In the beginning, the car sized rover shared the name of its mission- Mars
Science Laboratory. NASA wanted it to have a moniker of its own. For the same
purpose the space agency asked students to propose one. Out of 9000 entries,
“Curiosity” was chosen. The reason is obvious. “Curiosity was the first name that came to my mind” the
girl said “Mars is such a mysterious and wonderful planet. It inspires so many
questions in all of us”.
“Don’t touch” “Don’t go” ”Don’t move” ”Don’t do that”
These are the “don’t” that could kill a child’s creativity. Children
believe that everything is possible, unless and until someone convinces them
that it’s not or they encounter failure. Instead of putting off the
curiosity, encourage him/her to explore more. Let them enjoy the joy of discovery.
Brain muscles develop the more it is used. Questions and quest for the
answers trains the brain more than anything. Curiosity leads to exploration which
in turn leads to learning.
Curiosity is the propellant that drives us towards unraveling
the mysteries of the universe. Learn from kids and see no boundaries. The whole
universe is filled with questions for us to ponder over. Question anything and
everything, however silly it may sound at the first thought. As Albert Einstein
has rightly said “The more important thing is not to stop questioning, Curiosity
has its own reason for existing”.
