We understand life through interactions. Questions are not judgmental statements; they’re expressions of our desire to learn. I’m sure we’ve all carried some burdensome questions through life, waiting to hear an answer that makes sense. I’ve had some questions answered while some remain unanswered. While initially I felt some relief and excitement to have some of my questions answered, I have to say that I’ve felt loss too. It’s the questions that have propelled me forward in curiosity. I always hope to have more unanswered questions to keep me company and keep me curious.
Many years ago I took a course from a person I thought was a wonderful teacher. When someone asked me what made him so wonderful, I said "Because I always leave the class with more questions than I came with." And they were always GOOD questions that made me want to keep learning more. I hope I never lose my appetite for good questions.
Part communication part trying to understand something you desire to know. I like the idea of the difference of a directed question vs spur of the moment one.
Asking questions is the way I learn because it meets my needs for understanding, connection, and meaning. I love how curiosity can lead to new insights and deeper relationships. The word "rich" is very subjective. For me, being rich is about feeling content and at peace with what I have, and having more money wouldn't necessarily change that. I'd love to hear more about what "rich" means to you! 🙏
I love this invocation to be curious and ask questions as only a human can! In addition to keeping one step ahead of AI, it might also help us understand eachother better. Thanks again for another newsletter chock full of thought provoking ideas and fun links!
I took a fiction-writing course around 35 years ago which gave me several long-lasting lessons, one of which was, "Ask the next question." The general idea: when you start out to write a scene or a complete story, ask (and answer, for yourself) every question you can think of. (E.g.: your reader may never need to know what color shirt the protagonist was wearing when they walked into the restaurant and sat down, but YOU need to know, because each such choice tells YOU something about the character.) When you run out of questions, the project's done: it's "just" a matter of putting all the relative info into words.
The big writing exercise of the weekend was a sort of mental exercise. The instructor -- a very successful SF author -- turned out the lights, and walked us through a scenario where we got to meet our character on a stage in a theater. You led them into the wardrobe room and had them pick out a costume, took them to the prop room for a prop, etc., then you sat down before them in a chair and asked them whatever questions you still didn't know the answers to. And then, the climactic moment: your CHARACTER got to ask you ONE question, and you had to answer it.
Eventually, the lights in the room went back on.
I can't begin to tell you how unnerved I was by the experience. Hair-on-the-back-of-the-neck freaked out. But I LOVED it.
This post made me think the amount of times we could have chosen to answer with a questions instead of a statement. For example, when a friend or a family member is expressing their emotions (sadness, anger, boredom, anxiety etc) and believing we will be able to save them from their emotional state… we through a statement. What curiosity could do in this cases is so interesting and powerful and as you say… fosters connection, empathy, compassion. 🌸
I liked this post so much! 🙌🏼
Next time… what of we start a conversation with a friend or family asking a question? 🌼
We understand life through interactions. Questions are not judgmental statements; they’re expressions of our desire to learn. I’m sure we’ve all carried some burdensome questions through life, waiting to hear an answer that makes sense. I’ve had some questions answered while some remain unanswered. While initially I felt some relief and excitement to have some of my questions answered, I have to say that I’ve felt loss too. It’s the questions that have propelled me forward in curiosity. I always hope to have more unanswered questions to keep me company and keep me curious.
Thanks for this Carol!
Many years ago I took a course from a person I thought was a wonderful teacher. When someone asked me what made him so wonderful, I said "Because I always leave the class with more questions than I came with." And they were always GOOD questions that made me want to keep learning more. I hope I never lose my appetite for good questions.
Yes, well said -- strongly agree and totally get why you liked that teacher!
Part communication part trying to understand something you desire to know. I like the idea of the difference of a directed question vs spur of the moment one.
Asking questions is the way I learn because it meets my needs for understanding, connection, and meaning. I love how curiosity can lead to new insights and deeper relationships. The word "rich" is very subjective. For me, being rich is about feeling content and at peace with what I have, and having more money wouldn't necessarily change that. I'd love to hear more about what "rich" means to you! 🙏
Asking questions is uniquely human, quite true, but does it come from our wellness or from our problematic-ness?
Aren't we better just noticing and accepting that things are as they are?
Good question ;)
I love this invocation to be curious and ask questions as only a human can! In addition to keeping one step ahead of AI, it might also help us understand eachother better. Thanks again for another newsletter chock full of thought provoking ideas and fun links!
Thanks Kris!
I took a fiction-writing course around 35 years ago which gave me several long-lasting lessons, one of which was, "Ask the next question." The general idea: when you start out to write a scene or a complete story, ask (and answer, for yourself) every question you can think of. (E.g.: your reader may never need to know what color shirt the protagonist was wearing when they walked into the restaurant and sat down, but YOU need to know, because each such choice tells YOU something about the character.) When you run out of questions, the project's done: it's "just" a matter of putting all the relative info into words.
The big writing exercise of the weekend was a sort of mental exercise. The instructor -- a very successful SF author -- turned out the lights, and walked us through a scenario where we got to meet our character on a stage in a theater. You led them into the wardrobe room and had them pick out a costume, took them to the prop room for a prop, etc., then you sat down before them in a chair and asked them whatever questions you still didn't know the answers to. And then, the climactic moment: your CHARACTER got to ask you ONE question, and you had to answer it.
Eventually, the lights in the room went back on.
I can't begin to tell you how unnerved I was by the experience. Hair-on-the-back-of-the-neck freaked out. But I LOVED it.
This is fascinating, John! What an amazing exercise!
Curiosity is not uniquely human. Animals are curious too. They also ask questions through special talking buttons.
As a salesperson, I appreciate knowing AI may have a harder time taking my job 😅
You're not the only one thinking about that!
Part of communication is
The most important part of communicating is listening!
This post made me think the amount of times we could have chosen to answer with a questions instead of a statement. For example, when a friend or a family member is expressing their emotions (sadness, anger, boredom, anxiety etc) and believing we will be able to save them from their emotional state… we through a statement. What curiosity could do in this cases is so interesting and powerful and as you say… fosters connection, empathy, compassion. 🌸
I liked this post so much! 🙌🏼
Next time… what of we start a conversation with a friend or family asking a question? 🌼
"Why and how" is the principle question of intelligence.