2008 Woodie Awards
Sounding Off...From the deans' Office
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: Opinions
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Are you curious? You used to be, I am sure of it. If you still are, that is great; if you have lost some of that child-like curiosity, ask yourself why? Is it because you found all the answers? Or is it because you are afraid that it is not cool to be too curious? You can test your curiosity at the end of this article.
They say that curiosity killed the cat, but I don't believe it for a second. Life would be dull without curiosity. As a kid, I bet your favorite question was "Why?" I'm sure you found adults who would play that game for a while, but eventually I bet you won. You, just a kid, could stump an adult. And that's great. Can you imagine a world where no one ever asked "why?" -- either because we thought we knew it all, or worse, because we didn't care? I don't know which would be worse.
Curiosity keeps us going. It may sound trite, but asking questions motivates us to find answers. If you don't care about the question, you sure won't care about the answer, so why not be curious. It makes finding out the answer so much more interesting. It is what makes us human.
Finding answers is like doing a puzzle. For one thing, it is addictive. It gets to be a challenge to try to fit in another piece. Sometimes the pieces don't quit fit right, but that just makes you more determined to find the right piece. More than that, it's great to guess what the picture is - of course you don't have the box lid to know what the puzzle is supposed to look like, so revealing the picture is all the more fun. Plus, the more pieces you have filled in, the easier it gets to fill in more pieces. And if you are lucky enough to find a puzzle piece that really does not fit at all, then you on the verge of discovering something completely new. The old picture is simply wrong. In science, this is called a shift of paradigm - finding a new way to understand the world.
There is not much you can't be curious about. I dare you to think of something you are curious about right now. (E.g., where did the trees grow that went into the paper this article is printed on, and where will the paper go after you are done reading it? And should you care, and why?) But beware, curiosity can be addictive and sometimes won't let you sleep.
If you're not curious, Webster's says you are: aloof, detached, disinterested, indifferent, unconcerned, uninterested; apathetic, impassive, phlegmatic, stolid. Those are not good things to be, especially phlegmatic and stolid.
Here are two simple tests of your level of curiosity. (1) How long is your list of classes that you still want to take at Union? (If it is more than two times the number of courses you have left, I rate you as curious. If it is shorter than the number of courses you need to register for next term, you'd better work on your curiosity level.) (2) What do you know about the Watson Fellowship? (If you are excited about it and have either applied or plan to apply, I rate you as curious. If you have never heard of it, or know what it is but are not interested, you're missing a great opportunity.)
Doug Klein,
Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies
They say that curiosity killed the cat, but I don't believe it for a second. Life would be dull without curiosity. As a kid, I bet your favorite question was "Why?" I'm sure you found adults who would play that game for a while, but eventually I bet you won. You, just a kid, could stump an adult. And that's great. Can you imagine a world where no one ever asked "why?" -- either because we thought we knew it all, or worse, because we didn't care? I don't know which would be worse.
Curiosity keeps us going. It may sound trite, but asking questions motivates us to find answers. If you don't care about the question, you sure won't care about the answer, so why not be curious. It makes finding out the answer so much more interesting. It is what makes us human.
Finding answers is like doing a puzzle. For one thing, it is addictive. It gets to be a challenge to try to fit in another piece. Sometimes the pieces don't quit fit right, but that just makes you more determined to find the right piece. More than that, it's great to guess what the picture is - of course you don't have the box lid to know what the puzzle is supposed to look like, so revealing the picture is all the more fun. Plus, the more pieces you have filled in, the easier it gets to fill in more pieces. And if you are lucky enough to find a puzzle piece that really does not fit at all, then you on the verge of discovering something completely new. The old picture is simply wrong. In science, this is called a shift of paradigm - finding a new way to understand the world.
There is not much you can't be curious about. I dare you to think of something you are curious about right now. (E.g., where did the trees grow that went into the paper this article is printed on, and where will the paper go after you are done reading it? And should you care, and why?) But beware, curiosity can be addictive and sometimes won't let you sleep.
If you're not curious, Webster's says you are: aloof, detached, disinterested, indifferent, unconcerned, uninterested; apathetic, impassive, phlegmatic, stolid. Those are not good things to be, especially phlegmatic and stolid.
Here are two simple tests of your level of curiosity. (1) How long is your list of classes that you still want to take at Union? (If it is more than two times the number of courses you have left, I rate you as curious. If it is shorter than the number of courses you need to register for next term, you'd better work on your curiosity level.) (2) What do you know about the Watson Fellowship? (If you are excited about it and have either applied or plan to apply, I rate you as curious. If you have never heard of it, or know what it is but are not interested, you're missing a great opportunity.)
Doug Klein,
Dean of Interdisciplinary Studies
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