by Priyanka Singh
An average 5-year-old asks about 200-300 questions a day. Seems like a bit of a stretch! Actually, No! Children are naturally inquisitive and curious about the world around them. They don’t fear the shame of asking a stupid question. The adults try their best to answer their question to acquaint them with their surroundings. But after a while, kids stop asking questions due to the societal pressure – the fear of sounding stupid and the pressure to start providing answers like spellings and basic maths.
A young girl named Gracie Cunningham made a video while musing about the need for studying maths. She asked, how did mathematician come up with the concepts of maths, why do we have formulas, what made the Pythagoras think of equations, what purpose did it serve? A lot of people found her question stupid and mocked her for her innocuous question. But, surprisingly, a lot of mathematicians, philosophers, and academicians came to her rescue. They believed that Gracie’s question was actually a profound one, for even they could not answer the question to her satisfaction. They defended her questions on the grounds that they were sincere and reflected her inquisitiveness. Now, I am pretty sure she is not the only one who thought of this question. But she was definitely the brave one to ask it out loud. Why do I say brave? Because there are a lot of people out there who, due to their own ignorance, or arrogance, bring the spirit of curiosity down by ridiculing the brave questions, who in case of Gracie believed in the institution of mathematics as sacrosanct and unquestionable.
Does this mean that all questions are good?
Certainly not! There are many questions which seem innocent but are offensive or insensitive in nature. e.g., Why do you look like that? The question might seem innocent if a 4-year-old asked it but consider the person to whom the question is asked. He/she might feel hurt and awkward about their looks. So, always consider other person’s feeling before asking a question. Also, questions like, “Are we there yet”, “Is the food ready”, or “why do I need to live with my brother”, are all examples of unnecessary questions, one which don’t need an answer.
But it is imperative, my dear children, to keep the curiosity plug on the ‘on’ mode at all times. It makes the world a beautiful thing. Consider these whys – why is the leaf green and sky blue, why do I get goosebumps, why is my sister so much taller than me, why do we lie, why do we play? These are all very good questions and each one deserves a fair answer.
