Keep Asking Questions

A few years ago, I got a call (on my communication device) from a Pittsburgh author named Chip Walter. He was co-writing a book with William Shatner (a.k.a Kirk) about how scientific breakthroughs first imagined on Star Trek foreshadowed today’s technological advances. Captain Kirk wanted to visit my virtual reality lab at Carnegie Mellon.

Shatner stayed for three hours and asked tons of questions. A colleague later said to me: “He just kept asking and asking. He doesn’t seem to get it.”

But I was hugely impressed. Kirk, I mean, Shatner was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn’t know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn’t want to leave until he understood. That’s heroic to me. I wish every grad student had that attitude.

Randy Pausch
The Last Lecture

Questions and Answers

Albert Einstein once said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

A friend who heard this wrote to me asking, “Why? Why? Why?????????”

I think Einstein was assuming there were answers to be found.. as opposed to people (some of them I bumped into while studying philosophy) who dare not find any answers because what appealed to them was the "search" for truth/answers/reasons. Finding answers would mean move from aggressive critics to defending a particular viewpoint. Not as much fun. This is similar to romantic love that enjoys the chase, but is quickly bored (or frustrated) with the catch.

We show (by our choices) whether we ask questions because we really want answers.. or whether we draw pleasure from shouting question marks at the world and take comfort from the echo of our own voice.

Stephen Goforth