101. “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries to comprehend only a little of this mystery every day.” ~ Albert Einstein. Write about a personal experience or an aspect of the world that has engaged your curiosity or inspired awe in you. (Princeton)
The world we now live in has developed a lot over centuries. With technology developed, the world seems to be quite a comfortable place to live in. yet, despite this development, people realize often that they know very little about this world. There are so many things which we cannot answer. There is a limit to the facts we know about this world. But one good news is that we can continue to ask questions to develop as we did over centuries.
One historical example that inspired me to think about the importance of asking questions is the invention of Wright brothers: airplanes. they both wondered if there could be anything with which we could fly like birds. With facts they knew at that time, the Wright brothers knew that flying was impossible for humans. But because they asked themselves if there were any way to make flying possible, they could really find a way to fly: by inventing airplanes.
A book about rhetoric called Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs talks about the importance of asking questions in order to persuade others. It argues that every single word we say is to change others' opinions to my opinion. Facts only make people have different opinions, however, asking questions help shaping people's opinions by offering a second thought. For instance, if we simply tell a person at the shopping mall that the clothes don't look nice on him, he would just get mad and not even consider our opinion about clothes. But we ask him, "Don't you think a person's impression greatly depends on the clothes he wears? It depends on other people's opinions tremendously, don't you think?" he may then ask our opinions about clothes. The point here is that learning who the clothes match up with does not matter; learning how to ask about the benefits of clothes is important.
Our world developed by asking series of questions along with scientific inquiry, FAQs, and our curiosity since we're babies. Facts are what we learn as we ask questions. The first step towards development and better lives is learning how to ask questions.
The world we now live in has developed a lot over centuries. With technology developed, the world seems to be quite a comfortable place to live in. yet, despite this development, people realize often that they know very little about this world. There are so many things which we cannot answer. There is a limit to the facts we know about this world. But one good news is that we can continue to ask questions to develop as we did over centuries.
One historical example that inspired me to think about the importance of asking questions is the invention of Wright brothers: airplanes. they both wondered if there could be anything with which we could fly like birds. With facts they knew at that time, the Wright brothers knew that flying was impossible for humans. But because they asked themselves if there were any way to make flying possible, they could really find a way to fly: by inventing airplanes.
A book about rhetoric called Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs talks about the importance of asking questions in order to persuade others. It argues that every single word we say is to change others' opinions to my opinion. Facts only make people have different opinions, however, asking questions help shaping people's opinions by offering a second thought. For instance, if we simply tell a person at the shopping mall that the clothes don't look nice on him, he would just get mad and not even consider our opinion about clothes. But we ask him, "Don't you think a person's impression greatly depends on the clothes he wears? It depends on other people's opinions tremendously, don't you think?" he may then ask our opinions about clothes. The point here is that learning who the clothes match up with does not matter; learning how to ask about the benefits of clothes is important.
Our world developed by asking series of questions along with scientific inquiry, FAQs, and our curiosity since we're babies. Facts are what we learn as we ask questions. The first step towards development and better lives is learning how to ask questions.
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