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