Curiosity
I started with a question - what do you value based on a survey on Singaporeans and what they considered to be important values such as - Appreciation of beauty and excellence, Empathy, Forgiveness, Kindness, Honesty, Curiosity, Spirituality, Energy, Humour, Perseverance, Principle, Hope, Love of Learning, Gratitude, Open-Mindedness, Humility, Courage, Fairness, Justice, Sincerity, Creativity, Self-Control, etc.
I'll be talking about curiosity today and finish off later with a few others like spirituality, principle, hope, perseverance, justice, sincerity, open-mindedness, fairness. I have since covered more than half of them.
Curiosity
Curiosity
If curiosity kills the cat, non-curiosity killed all the other animals!
"Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect - Walter Pater.
You should always learn, with life comes wisdom and with wisdom comes the courage to live your life selflessly. The more you learn about yourself and the experiences surrounding your life, the more opportunities you have to make your life better and more fulfilling - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
One of the most important things in life is "not to stop questioning". It is different from being "kay poh" which means being a busybody. Busybodies do not want to learn, they just wanted to find out about others then gossip. "I tell you something but please don't tell anyone" and soon the whole world knew about it. Only you didn't know and think it's still a secret. Remember, there is no secret in this world!
One of the most important things in life is "not to stop questioning". It is different from being "kay poh" which means being a busybody. Busybodies do not want to learn, they just wanted to find out about others then gossip. "I tell you something but please don't tell anyone" and soon the whole world knew about it. Only you didn't know and think it's still a secret. Remember, there is no secret in this world!
Albert Einstein said that "Everyman ought to be inquisitive through every hour of his great adventure down to the day where he shall no longer cast a shadow in the sun. For if he dies without a question in his heart, what excuse is there for his continuance?"
Whatever subject or question we have in mind, we must always seize the moment and opportunity to be curious, to find answers, to solve our doubts. For if that desire is gone we would have let it pass and we will remain ignorant for not testing opinions and whatever comes our way. Curiosity is a quest. The greatest learners are curious people and the most resolute of them help overcome obstacles.
Eugene S. Wilson said "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity".
All children are by nature inquisitive. They need to find out, learn, discover. Telling them not to run or touch things can be futile. When you ask questions in school the teachers asked you to shut up. When you tell your boss something, he says he knows before he listened. In our rush rush world, people go straight into the job and do only one area of work where in the old days, it took you a long time to get recognition, promotion or be a skilled practitioner. That is why most of the food sucks these days.
For example education is very important, in fact it is the key out of poverty. For Singapore, our flag seems to be flying high in this area but many successful people are successful not because of it as our system here is still too rigid and people are afraid of and completely fear failure and rather mostly be passive learners. I truly admire folks who are passionate about what they do and are deeply committed in doing it. They do not conform and are not compliant.
Our schools are a production line for what is needed for the economy, for the factories so we are being produced for that purpose and then you are tested like a factory product and when you excel in their given fields you get recognition. If you don't, you are labelled as failures even when young. During my time, I know of many talented and smart people who do not like to study or were simply too distracted as we all grow up differently. What some of them has achieved is even greater than all the scholars put together.
Take Mr. Sim Wong Hoo for example. Nobody helped him because they didn't believed him at first. He would have failed so miserably had he not succeeded in his last attempt to go to the USA to showcase his soundcard. The rest is history. I think people who met him initially would have said "Sim Wong Who?" He was again the first man to let you walk around with music downloaded in your MP3 way before Apple came with their iPod. He went to the USA to take on the big boys and even successfully sued Apple. I wish him well in his new challenge of putting a tablet for everyone student in China and also his philanthropic works and generosity. My salute to him!
The government may only be partly to blame because at the time, it served our purpose. When they say OK let's not do exams for primary one and parents panic! You see what I mean? From the industrial revolution to the now information revolution, there is an astonishing amount of information easily accessible online right from your living room. There is nothing you cannot find and there is nothing one cannot learn - the good, the bad and the ugly. When we wish to learn something and learn it well and even excel in it what does it take to do it?
Firstly, you just need to be curious. Then an interest that stirs up a passion. Do not be afraid. Remain unaffected. However, do note that curiosity can at times also get us into some trouble. You could end up like a cat on a hot tin roof. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! SO keep your hands to yourself and that's why curiosity kills the cat.
Bruce Lee: Knowing is not enough, you must apply. Willing is not enough, you must do.
Keep asking questions even to yourself and that will lead you to search, seek and find answers and solutions. Stay curious!
Whatever subject or question we have in mind, we must always seize the moment and opportunity to be curious, to find answers, to solve our doubts. For if that desire is gone we would have let it pass and we will remain ignorant for not testing opinions and whatever comes our way. Curiosity is a quest. The greatest learners are curious people and the most resolute of them help overcome obstacles.
Eugene S. Wilson said "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity".
All children are by nature inquisitive. They need to find out, learn, discover. Telling them not to run or touch things can be futile. When you ask questions in school the teachers asked you to shut up. When you tell your boss something, he says he knows before he listened. In our rush rush world, people go straight into the job and do only one area of work where in the old days, it took you a long time to get recognition, promotion or be a skilled practitioner. That is why most of the food sucks these days.
For example education is very important, in fact it is the key out of poverty. For Singapore, our flag seems to be flying high in this area but many successful people are successful not because of it as our system here is still too rigid and people are afraid of and completely fear failure and rather mostly be passive learners. I truly admire folks who are passionate about what they do and are deeply committed in doing it. They do not conform and are not compliant.
Our schools are a production line for what is needed for the economy, for the factories so we are being produced for that purpose and then you are tested like a factory product and when you excel in their given fields you get recognition. If you don't, you are labelled as failures even when young. During my time, I know of many talented and smart people who do not like to study or were simply too distracted as we all grow up differently. What some of them has achieved is even greater than all the scholars put together.
Take Mr. Sim Wong Hoo for example. Nobody helped him because they didn't believed him at first. He would have failed so miserably had he not succeeded in his last attempt to go to the USA to showcase his soundcard. The rest is history. I think people who met him initially would have said "Sim Wong Who?" He was again the first man to let you walk around with music downloaded in your MP3 way before Apple came with their iPod. He went to the USA to take on the big boys and even successfully sued Apple. I wish him well in his new challenge of putting a tablet for everyone student in China and also his philanthropic works and generosity. My salute to him!
The government may only be partly to blame because at the time, it served our purpose. When they say OK let's not do exams for primary one and parents panic! You see what I mean? From the industrial revolution to the now information revolution, there is an astonishing amount of information easily accessible online right from your living room. There is nothing you cannot find and there is nothing one cannot learn - the good, the bad and the ugly. When we wish to learn something and learn it well and even excel in it what does it take to do it?
Firstly, you just need to be curious. Then an interest that stirs up a passion. Do not be afraid. Remain unaffected. However, do note that curiosity can at times also get us into some trouble. You could end up like a cat on a hot tin roof. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! SO keep your hands to yourself and that's why curiosity kills the cat.
Bruce Lee: Knowing is not enough, you must apply. Willing is not enough, you must do.
Keep asking questions even to yourself and that will lead you to search, seek and find answers and solutions. Stay curious!
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