Watching a kid at the library ask 'why' about everything made me rethink my own questions

I was in the children's section of the Seattle Public Library last Tuesday, trying to find a book on basic car maintenance. A little boy, maybe five, was with his dad, pointing at a picture of a dinosaur and just firing off 'why' questions one after another. His dad was getting a bit flustered, but he kept answering each one as best he could. It hit me that I hadn't asked a simple, curious 'why' about my own hobbies in years, I just looked for the quick answer online. Now I'm trying to be more like that kid when I hit a snag in a project, starting from the basic reason something works instead of just the fix. Anyone else try to relearn that kind of basic curiosity as an adult?

2 comments

2 Comments

webb.derek8d ago

Your line about "starting from the basic reason" made me realize I always just search for the quick fix too.

smith.matthew8d ago

Yeah, it's a hard habit to break, @webb.derek. We're all trained to just google the error code and paste the first fix. But that usually just puts a band-aid on a bigger problem. Then it breaks again in a new way a week later. Taking ten minutes to ask "why did this happen" saves hours later. The quick fix feels like a win until you're doing it over and over.