You want to know about me?
Be Curious! Ask me a question!
When you DON’T ask a person questions, you show you don’t care.
Find out why by watching our Truth in Two (full text below).
If you stop asking questions, you stop learning, you stop caring for others and their views.
Subscribe to “Truth in Two” videos from Comenius (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), teaches at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis, and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).
Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT
I love Curious George! George, the monkey, loves to try new things, loves to experiment, see what happens when he does something the opposite way of “normal.” And George gets in trouble, not because he did something wrong. No. George gets in trouble for learning.
Learning is served by curiosity. I am a big believer in Curious George kinds of learning. If you tell me you like the color red, I’ll ask you if you like red better than blue. My curiosity is based in questions.
What is the best way to shut down any discussion? Stop asking questions. What is the best way to end exploration into a topic? Stop asking questions. What is the best way to persuade someone you don’t care about them? Stop asking questions.
This summer someone said to me, “I wish you would change your political views.” I asked what political views they referred to. They said, “You want to elect a certain person to public office.” I asked what was wrong with that. They said, “I think you’re wrong.” The person never asked a question.
The person began with their own position, believing it to be right. They thought my political position was wrong. That’s fine. But if you really want to know my political position, ask me why I believe what I do. Don’t just assume I’m wrong. No learning went on, because no questions were asked.
Be Curious George! Find out why someone thinks what they do. You know what the opposite of “curious” is? Uninterested. If you simply want me to believe what you believe, you have stopped learning. Why? You stopped asking questions and stopped showing an interest in me.
For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, president of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.
Curiosity may have killed the cat but it will kill us if we don’t use it.