Curiosity Doesn't Kill

Life is not about the search for the right answers. If it is, then all advisors, experts, like scientists and fortune-tellers are grossly overpaid - they give too many wrong answers. 

For instance, none of the experts were able to warn us on the financial crises, and, despite the complex mathematical models and fancy economic theories, our cost of living is still skyrocketing. Also, even after ages of weather forecasting, we are not capable to accurately predict and avoid natural catastrophes and there are still thousands of casualties in tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, etc. Plus, we get asked to pay so much for talks that tell us how to get rich, although despite this, we'd still be trying to make ends meet; or we could buy countless books to teach us how to live, and still cry silently at our misfortunes.

So is it wrong to find the right answers? No. What is wrong is to make life all about getting the perfect answer. What makes a person wiser is not what he knows, it's what he can ask about. And that's why I believe life is about the search for more questions. 

Think about it. Physicists (and most people) have always been longing to find the Theory of Everything, but what they truly dream of is beyond that - unimaginable mysteries out there waiting to be discovered, if only we knew the Theory of Everything.

Before Al-Khwarizmi 'discovered' the algorithm, no one could have possibly thought about applying the method to create new technology like the computer - what more to imagine the Internet, or, Facebook! It's impossible to tell where our discoveries can bring us to.

Curiosity did not kill the cat. A curious cat may die of a tragic accident, but the dull cat that survives may live to never discover its own life's potentials. 

It's good to learn something new; better, to understand it; best, to ask new questions from that understanding. 

The Neutral State of Mind

I finally got a jolt of reality from the exams briefing today that I have two months before my finals, so I really need to start working hard for it. Is there enough time for me to do my revision? Should I worry that I might fail if I'm still not prepared come July? 

I hate to worry about anything because it's counterproductive. But of course, one cannot be too complacent either. So where is the balance, to get worried or to be complacent? 

Don't worry. Like the diagram above shows: whatever the circumstances, there's never a reason to worry. Yes, you can argue that our worry can nudge us towards making a real effort on solving a problem. That's a fair point.

However, I believe it's never good to do something just because we worry about the consequences of not doing it. It's much better if we choose to do something out of interest - however absurd and far-reaching as it may sound - even when it comes to very demanding tasks like work and study. So hey, let's do something because we want to. That's true bliss!

A Moment of Silence

I'm trying to find the right things to share in this blog, using the right words. It can be difficult sometimes. Like Joseph Campbell once said, 

“The best things cannot be told, the second best are misunderstood. 

After that comes civilized conversation; after that, mass indoctrination; 

after that, intercultural exchange."