Young Philosopher's Society

By Mehrsa Karbasforushha

“What do I like? What do I want to learn about? What do I want to spend the rest of my life doing?”

For many of us currently in our final years of completing our high school diploma, these are questions that have not left our minds for the past few years. Often, I find myself thinking, “Why do I not know what I like? I shouldn’t even have to think about it!” Why was this so much easier when we were kids? Why did we have a never-ending list of things we wanted to be when we grew up? And why were we constantly asking questions?

A few weeks ago, I saw a short clip of Carl Sagan, famous American astronomer, author and professor. He was talking about how when you visit a kindergarten or grade one class, you find a room full of science enthusiasts. They ask such profound, deep questions. But go into a 12 class? He says, “They’ve become leaden and incurious. Something terrible has happened between kindergarten and 12th grade, and it’s not just puberty.” 

Every human is born with a strong desire to learn. About the world, about others, about anything, really. In an article titled Why are humans so curious, the BBC Science Focus Magazine states, “Humans, it seems, are hardwired to be curious, and this instinct would have been a potential lifesaver for our ancestors – the person who dared to poke their head around the corner may have found new food or water, or spotted a predator approaching.” Even though the famous saying refers to cats as the curious ones, humans are probably the most curious creatures alive, and I believe it stems from our desire to learn. 

Now, you’re probably thinking, why does this curiosity, this desire to learn dry up as we grow older? There are a number of factors as to why we become numb to new information and incurious as we age. For example, the environment in which we are raised. Busy parents might tell their kids off when they ask many questions. Teachers might respond with, “You don’t need to know that right now,” when asked questions outside of the lessons in class. These negative reactions can cause a child to think that they would be “more loved” or a “better kid” in their elders’ eyes if they were quiet and didn’t ask too many questions. On the other hand, teachers, who are enthusiastic about what they teach and have been able to keep the light of curiosity bright within themselves tend to inspire and motivate their students. Last year, I had the honour of being in the chemistry class of one of the best teachers I have ever had. I could almost see the glow in his eyes and heard the excitement in his voice when he talked about all the theories and phenomena in the world of chemistry. This enthusiasm was so amazing to me. I would often catch myself being in awe of our world and its wonders as well. Almost like his enthusiasm and passion were contagious. 

Of course, my intentions aren’t to label certain people as “bad”, however, what I am suggesting is that we should be more mindful of what we say and how we react to kids and even youth, as they are in the peak of their development and their view towards the world is shaping in those years. Certain people in one’s life, like a passionate teacher, can truly change the course of one’s life, and open their eyes to things they didn’t see before. To this day, I still have a special liking and passion for chemistry, and I’m grateful that I got to meet someone that relit the fire of desire for learning within me. 

Unfortunately, not everyone has a person like this in their life. Someone to keep the light shining bright inside of them. So, how can we regain our senses and find something that we can’t stop learning about? Something that makes us feel alive? A passion? Well, there are a number of things that can be done. An article published on Forbes titled Curiosity: Why It Matters, Why We Lose It And How To Get It Back says that one of the biggest factors in curiosity shutdowns is thinking we know everything already. Naturally, as we age, we are forced to narrow down our field of study, and are not exposed to a variety of areas of information, and we start to think that we know most things, at least in our field of study.. So, key number one to relighting your inner curiosity is to always be open to learning new things. Remember that our world is full of mysteries and the unknown. There is still so much to discover and learn about. Asking questions is also extremely important to our learning. Lastly, try out different things and see what you like! You will never know whether you enjoy something until you try it. Don’t be afraid to try new things, because you might just find yourself a passion, something that you may never want to stop doing or learning about.