How curiosity paved the way to selflearning

[Applause]

everything

begins with a problem and it is up to us

to find a solution

when most people look at this rubik’s

cube they think

one of two things either i can solve it

or i can’t solve it when i first looked

at the rubik’s cube

i thought what if i was able to solve it

and so i twisted and turned repeated my

moves

with no luck but then i realized

hey there’s always the internet

and so i googled how to solve a rubik’s

cube

what i found eventually led me to

start practicing how to solve it solving

the white side and the first two layers

then orientating the last layer

and ending off with a quick but precise

permutation

voila

today i can solve the cube in about 30

seconds on average

with my personal best being 9 seconds

but it’s not my ability to solve the

cube at record speeds

that is so special to me rather the

spark

that started it all

curiosity it’s the main reason

we learn in the first place and if we

weren’t so curious creatures

we wouldn’t have made the inventions

that keep us happy and healthy every day

like the light bulb but as time

progresses on

and technology continues to distract us

perhaps we’re becoming more and more

comfortable as life

and less and less curious

think about it why would we need to

learn anymore

if we had everything we needed to know

in the palm

of our very own hands but this attitude

is dangerous

and can lead to a less creative and less

successful world

we need to bring curiosity into our

lives

so that we can continue growing

inventing and discovering for the future

let’s first talk about

what curiosity is what it means to us

before finally learning how we can bring

it about

our everyday lives

some people don’t understand why solving

the rubik’s

cube is so much fun but that’s the exact

reason

i do it because curiosity is

all about wanting to learn and discover

things

you don’t know yet in fact the bbc

reported that

curiosity comes from basic human nature

meaning we are born to be curious

creatures

and our minds have evolved to think

differently

and to learn and grow from experiences

and sure we may be wasting time today by

searching random things up on the

internet

but if our brains know that

it’s information we will use

in our future it’s completely worth it

just by wanting to learn more you’re

already taking the first step

to becoming more and more curious every

day

when i was younger i didn’t tell myself

i was going to get into

soccer football basketball skating or

skiing

i just saw other people do it and

i thought that looks fun could i have a

try

they say curiosity killed the cat but

curiosity comes in handy

once in a while actually more than not

why because that lets us discover things

we don’t know

that we don’t know what i mean by that

is you can discover things you don’t

know

but you can also discover things that

you never knew existed

nobody ever tells you to be curious

your parents and teachers are more

likely to tell you other advice

like don’t talk to strangers try new

things

or never give up curiosity

comes from within you are the only

person

in this world that can tell yourself

what to learn how to learn it

or whether to learn it at all for

example

i recently found out that christopher

columbus

didn’t discover america first in fact

leif erikson and the vikings may have

arrived sooner

and if so almost five centuries

before columbus and many more people

possibly have arrived before them

my curiosity even led me to discover

how about how you could reuse the water

inside hydroelectric cars to make the

more efficient vehicles

or important allied strategic maneuvers

to led them to win

world war ii the world

is huge and all this curiosity

is stretching my brain

but if it means i get to be more

informed

and especially if it means i get to

share my knowledge with friends and

family

it’s completely worth it

curiosity is the fuel for discovery and

learning

curious people ask questions and the

more you ask the more you know

just like a snowball effect if you throw

a snowball of questions

you’ll be facing an avalanche of

information

but it’s not really a bad thing

so how can all of us learn how to be a

bit more curious in our everyday lives

i’ve come up with a three-step system

i’d like to share with everyone

i call it age a-g-e

the first letter is a for asking

questions

and in return you’ll get good answers

my teacher mislum always said that if

you ask a good question

you’ll get a better answer

never tell your brain that your question

is silly or dumb

because the only way you’ll know the

answer is by asking for it

sometimes we stop ourselves in class

from asking questions

because we feel embarrassed but

you might just be helping someone who

was too

scared to ask and don’t worry

our parents and teachers are always

there to guide us

so we should use their help as much as

possible

and there’s always the internet

the second letter is g for go beyond

don’t just learn what’s required learn

as much as you can beyond it

when we’re given a boring assignment at

school we’re most likely to just want to

learn what’s required

but there is so much more information

so much more perspectives so many more

details

and so much more to learn about one same

thing

and not wanting to learn it it’s like

throwing a perfect opportunity

out the window and into the trash

and while we usually do the first thing

that’s most obvious

if you did something different like draw

out your ideas

or brainstorm with friends it might just

make learning

that bit more interesting and exciting

last but not least e for be

excited study

things that bring you joy you’re only

going to want to learn and remember

things

that you like anyway so why not enjoy

studying them

and don’t worry no one is ever going to

stop

you because the world will never run out

of information

i’m only nine but my curiosity has

already paved such a long road for me

when i grow up i’d like to study

medicine and become an epidemiologist

i would like to find out how we could

have better prevented corona

how we can create a safer world and how

i could become an agent of change

to show the doctors of today and the

heroes

have sacrificed their lives for the

greater good of humanity

they’ll know that in the future there

will be people

just like them willing to make such

great sacrifices

and their core values will never be

forgotten

today we’ve seen how curiosity can

inspire us

educate us and changes for the better

we’ve seen how can benefit us and how we

can become more and more curious every

day

it’s clear that because of curiosity

learning is way more fun and useful

than we used to think

sometimes we forget to enjoy new

discoveries

and that’s when learning becomes

challenging and boring

and so to jumpstart your curious mind

i challenge you to learn one new thing

this week

not because you have to but because you

want to

pick up a new hobby learn how something

works

or even something fun like how to solve

a rubik’s cube

the future belongs to those who are

curious

those who are not afraid to explore it

touch it feel it

taste it discover it question it and

turn it inside out

indeed we learn more by looking for the

answers

to a question then learning the answers

itself

and so today ladies and gentlemen boys

and girls

i’d like to leave you with a quote from

albert einstein

the important thing is to not stop

questioning

curiosity has its own reason for

existing

thank you