I’m going to try holding myself to this:
My mother made me a scientist without ever intending to. Every other Jewish mother in Brooklyn would ask her child after school, “So? Did you learn anything today?” But not my mother. “Izzy,” she would say, “did you ask a good question today?”
That difference – asking good questions – made me become a scientist.
— Isidor Isaac Rabi, Nobel laureate
[Via]
You should also consider Aaron Swartz’s thoughts on curiosity.
(second question/answer)
http://www.fastcompany.com/3004769/my-email-exchange-aaron-swartz-shows-original-thinker
Keep them curious!
well good luck becoming a Nobel laureate…
[You first, troll. –J.]
I’m always more impressed by one of my photo students who asks a question that stumps me (“If you’re shooting RAW, is setting white balance in the camera the same as white balancing in Lightroom?”) Than by a student who knows the right answer to everything. The latter leads to nothing new, while for the former causes me to pull out green and magenta filters, and discuss the Kelvin scale. Education is not about knowing the right answers, but asking the right questions. And let’s throw in more Einstein, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
@dan, ” Education is not about knowing the right answers, but asking the right questions.” Amen. I was lucky a brilliant English teacher taught me this truth during my teen years. Btw, its often useful in relationships too! 😉