Curiosity is a Beautiful Thing

*Note: For more information on the prompt that inspired this essay please click HERE

Curiosity: the desire to learn or know about anything.  This is the definition according to Dictionary.com. Curiosity is a beautiful thing, contrary to the famous quotation “Curiosity killed the cat.”  While it is true that sometimes curiosity can get us into trouble, I believe that a child’s curiosity is something to be valued and attended to. It is meaningful and impactful.

The picture I took shows my son looking up at something with a look of amusement.  This photo encapsulates a child’s capacity for curiosity.  With his eyes fixated away from the camera, we see just how curious this adorable guy is. It amazes me to witness my son’s wheels constantly turning because I realize just how powerful the mind of a child is.

Oftentimes people think that children are not that intelligent because they don’t understand the world the same way we do, because they are so impressionable.  However, I believe that we should not underestimate the power of a child. Yes! Children, even as babies, are capable of far more than we give them credit for.  They observe EVERYTHING that occurs in our crazy world—they take it all in without blinking an eye.  How do they react to what they see? They laugh, furrow their eyebrows, leap in fear, smile…the list goes on.  But let’s focus on the furrowing of their eyebrows.  Children are skeptics! They are skeptics who are full of curiosity and will not stop until they are satisfied with an answer.  That is the look that my son is giving.  He is skeptically asking, “What is that?!?”

I believe that this picture captures the beauty of the mind. It’s amazing to me that human beings have the ability to question, to wonder and think.  We often take for granted the fact that our mind is powerful, that the most prominent inventions of today stemmed from curiosity.  For example, Steve Jobs was able to use his curiosity to innovate Apple, the company who distributes the most sold e-product today. Or how about Bill Gates, whose curiosity morphed into the creation of Microsoft and resulted in him being one of the wealthiest Americans today.  Both of these men asked questions—“Why?” “How?”—and in turn developed life-changing inventions that impacted millions of people. We are all capable of leaving that type of imprint on the world. The key to doing that, however, is making our curiosity come to life.

I think it best if we take Albert Einstein’s advice: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he [or she] contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”

Post Submitted by Casey

American Cultural Literacy: “Curiosity killed the cat”

“Curiosity killed the cat”

PROVERB

MEANING: People should mind their own business.  This expression apparently first appeared in print in an O. Henry story in the early 1900s.

Review: Curiosita: Creative, Enlightening, and Truthful

The following is a review on the article “Curiosita: An Insatiably Curious Approach to Life and an Unrelenting Quest for Curious Learning.”

“Leondardo’s loyalty, devotion, and passion were directed, instead, to the pure quest for truth and beauty.”

When I read this line, I was completely astonished! Wow—what a beautiful example of what it means to be committed to something and how curiosity is, in fact, beneficial to a person!

The idea of this article about Leonardo Da Vinci completely combats the cliche “Curiosity killed the cat;” in fact, it fully supports the development of our minds and the extension of our curiosity, especially when our curiosity drives us to find truth, meaning, and beauty, just like Leondardo is claimed to have done.

As the title of this post suggests, I will be writing a review of the article.  The first aspect I will discuss is the article’s creativity.  The author took a creative approach to Da Vinci, his life, and his artwork. Instead of focusing on the religious aspect of Da Vinci like most people do, the author points out Da Vinci’s quest for truth and meaning.  I appreciated the originality and the specific focus on curiosity and it’s role in mankind.   I thought it was very engaging yet informative. 

Secondly, I found this piece enlightening.  The author includes ten “power questions” that help the reader focus on personal growth and fulfillment.  I, personally, find satisfaction in activities that emphasize self-awareness, self-reflection, and personal growth because they help me develop into a stronger, more well-rounded person.  Thus, I discovered new ways to view curiosity, and I felt that I learned new things about myself as well.

Lastly, I found the article truthful.  It provided concrete examples of curiosity’s relevance and prominence in human beings’ lives. From children’s innocent questions to adults more philosophical ones, the author provides the reader with a sense of security and fulfillment by demonstrating to them that not only is it okay to be curious, but it is natural.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the read.  It was concise, direct, and interesting.

Post submitted by Casey O’Neill

Review: How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci

The brain is perhaps the most fascinating and mysterious feature of the human body.  It weighs about only 2% of our total body weight, yet it controls every thing about us.  The cerebral cortex contains about 15-30 billion neurons with every cubic millimeter containing nearly one billion synapses.  That means that there are more connections in our brains than the amount of stars in the universe!  The brain is what makes us tick.  It gives us the ability to feel hunger, pain, love, sadness, and euphoria.  It is what allows us to build cities, write poetry, solve math problems, speak, run, and breathe.  So why do we often times feel as if our brains aren’t working hard enough?  Why do we get writer’s block?  Why do we sometimes feel as though everyone is smarter than us?

In the book How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci, we take a gander at one of the greatest minds in the history of mankind–the great Leonardo Da Vinci.  The book looks at how he thought and executed his ideas and shows us how we may do the same.

Perhaps what first comes to mind when he is brought up is his obsession with human flight (see Da Vinci’s helicopter) or the “Mona Lisa”.  However, Da Vinci was not just an inventor.  In fact, he truly is the master of the art of being “well-rounded.”  In his lifetime, Da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer.(1) In another book entitled The Book of Genius, authors Tony Buzan and Raymond Keene argue that Da Vinci was the greatest genius in history, followed by William Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, and Michaelangelo.

But so what?  Da Vinci was a smart guy…what does he have to do with us?

In our world, we have deluded and misinterpreted what we call intelligence.  College students of all people should know this for a fact.  Since kindergarten, grades and test scores have been the only quantifiable way to exhibit our degree of intelligence.  IQ, SAT, MCAT, LSAT, and GRE scores have become our obsession, and it is this obsession that allows companies like Kaplan, The Princeton Review, and Examcrackers to make millions and millions of dollars in profit each year.

Leo, on the other hand, wasn’t a modern day college student.  There was no number to define or evaluate his intelligence, or some board exam to encourage his quest for knowledge.  What he had, instead, was pure curiosity.

We see that many modern day geniuses all shared this same level of curiosity.  Two of my personal favorites–Stephen Hawking and the late Carl Sagan–are no exceptions.  Even at a young age, Carl Sagan remembers how intensely curious he was about the world around him.  He asked very simple questions and wondered how things worked and why they worked.  He writes,

“Plainly, the world held wonders of a kind I had never guessed. How could a tone become a picture and light become a noise?”

Simple.

We often hear the phrase, “Curiosity killed the cat,” and immediately nod our heads in agreement because we’ve been trained to believe it.  But imagine a world in which everyone abided by this proverb.  Would we have made it to the moon?  Would Charles Darwin have gone to the Galapagos?  Would we even know what a cell looks like?

It is natural to fear the unknown, but to dwell in this fear is to become everything but human.  There are billions and billions of neurological connections within our brains–it is only right that we use them all, whether to learn a new language, excel at a sport, paint a mural, make a scientific discovery, or write a song.  Too often we take our consciousness and our ability to think for granted.  Make becoming a genius your deepest desire–it is mine–and your life will be infinitely more fulfilling and meaningful.

Post submitted by Crystal Maranan