Ashley Elizabeth Miller

“Curiosity is more important than knowledge” — Albert Einstein

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Why is the sky blue?

Why do we wear pants?

Why does my aunt’s tortoise have a shell? Why is his name Darwin? Why does he like to eat red flowers?

These are a few questions my five and three-year-old cousins asked me when I told them the importance of asking questions, always. I was inspired by my book at the time — Why?: The Philosophy Behind The Question, written by French professor Philippe Huneman.

Kids are their most curious and willing to ask questions before they go to school and learn formal rules — from ages two to five the urge to ask is at its highest. But as they grow and watch adults navigate the world, kids come to understand systems of good and bad, right and wrong — thus stop asking questions when they understand that some answers are beyond their capacity for knowing.

But this is false! Huneman says it comes down to the bandwagon effect — we see others accepting the rules of life as fact and so we follow suit. To regain our sense of curiosity, it’s important to never stop asking why. What made the conditions for this thing to be accepted as truth? Why does it make the most sense?

Each chapter looks at a different question: Why did World War I start? (Hint: it goes beyond the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.) Another one asks why Romeo loves Juliet and a more existential question in the last chapter asks: Why am I me?

Never Lose Your Curiosity

Curiosity is one of the most important things we have on the path to becoming a better person. Te-Nehisi Coates wrote of this in his bestseller out this year, The Message. He says writers play a role in helping people see beyond the rigid lines of reality, opening young and old minds up to new ways of thinking, encouraging their curiosity to bloom.

“The danger we present, as writers, is not that we will simply convince their children of a different dogma, but that we will convince them that they have power to form their own.”

Instead of spoon feeding your kids etiquette, history, social norms of your grandparents era, encourage their questions beyond the norm and be honest in your replies — never react with anger when a curious child asks you a question; it’s detrimental to their self esteem — trust me, I know.