Ask More, Know More: The Art and Impact of Curiosity
The Role of Effective Questioning in Personal Growth and Future-Proof Innovation
Who are you?
Where does the world come from?
The book “Sophie’s World” by Jostein Gaarder begins with these two mysterious questions. Humanity has always asked questions throughout each era. For instance, it's hard to identify a culture that has not asked about what a human is or where the world comes from. Thanks to these questions asked throughout history, we have gained the ability to “question” and step outside of our usual patterns. History clearly shows us that for each question asked, we can come up with a multitude of responses.
In Sophie’s Garden of Eden, it is thought that “eventually, at any time, anything must have come out of nothing and emptiness…”, but in this piece, we will look at some more discernable points. We have accumulated knowledge that asking questions is a greater competency, even virtue, based on the answers given.
But why?
If we look back, Goethe says, “Those who cannot account for three thousand years will not find their way in the dark, they only live day by day.” Meanwhile, Milan Kundera says, “Man’s ignorance comes from having an answer to everything, his wisdom comes from asking questions to everything.”
Can you relate to the idea that your existence and role in the future will be shaped by the questions asked today? How would it look like if you identify asking as capital not only for innovation at work but especially for self-innovation? If it sounds logical, let’s dive deeper:
This capital has four cornerstones:
- Questioning the Existing
- Reaching Insight
- Increasing Team Communication
- Focusing on the Future
As an individual, you should have a common goal in every context you find yourself in society: Ask more and better questions!
So how can we better ask these questions and foster innovation with them?
Schumpeter, while explaining his Creative Destruction Theory, says, “New phenomena make other phenomena obsolete and destroy them over time. To produce a new system, the old system must be destroyed.”
At this point, in order to incorporate this perspective into our workflow, we should adapt to perceiving creative destruction not only as an economic concept but as a “sign of a paradigm shift in all areas of life”. In the existing flow, we should search constantly for the new with the excitement of discovering through questioning. And this can apply beyond work; we can incorporate this into our lives, our relationships, and our communications, and start an innovation journey that allows us to form habits from a new awareness.
But how can we get in the habit of asking good questions, especially when forming habits is so challenging in our intense and complex world?
For this, I’m sharing four simple rules that will facilitate you:
1. From Auto-pilot to Continuous Discovery
In our daily lives, we are often rushing to catch up or get things done. Our awareness can significantly drop, especially in our work life, characterized by repetitive patterns, in the midst of a fast flow. Author John Seely Brown thinks that the continuous change we’re in today forces us to switch from auto-pilot mode to a state of constant questioning and discovery in order to survive. It’s high time to reach an awareness with the patterns we’ve memorized and join this mindful flow!
2. From Knowledge to Lifelong Learning
Paul Bottino, an innovation professor at Harvard University, argues that with the advent of the Information Age, the democratization of access to knowledge has now emphasized the value of learning over knowing. Today, knowledge has become a commodity; known answers are accessible everywhere and at all times. What’s important instead is always harbouring the desire to learn new things and being aware of this.
3. From “Certain” Expert to “Restless” Student
While the claim of being confident is increasingly losing its validity, embracing the state of being a student represents a new prestige in social life. Joichi Ito, Director of the MIT Media Lab, draws attention to the fact that the “see and apply” method in adult life no longer works due to continuous change and increasing complexity in the world, and many things we know are being redefined.
When what we know quickly becomes obsolete, one of the most objective pieces of advice we can give is to turn from a confident expert into a student ready to discover new things.
4. From Pedant to Intellectual Humility
Being able to ask questions comes from being at peace with your sensitivities, and comes from a culture where “vulnerability” is valid currency. Creating this culture is a situation left to courage and actions. Edward Hess Wagner from the University of Virginia defines intellectual humility as “being open to new ideas, the ability to grasp and use new knowledge.”
“Questions are the frames into which answers fit. If you change the frame, you change the access to potential solutions.” — Tina Seelig
Returning to Sophie; Sophie did not focus on the answers to the questions she encountered in the world she was trying to explore; thinking about the questions and asking new questions made her happy. While thinking about these answers and new questions, she did not settle for what she knew and tried to delve deeper without assuming and glossing over some things, and she tried to enjoy this journey.
Of course, since we are not the main characters of a philosophy book, our brains may not be as enthusiastic as Sophie’s. This is one of the most natural problems brought by our day; in the daily flow, our brain tends to avoid spending energy and tends to think based on ready solutions, what it knows, and assumptions when faced with problems.
To help, there are three points we need to remind ourselves of.
- Focus on problems.
- Think about different principles.
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
Let’s see how we can play with the architecture of the questions we ask and reach the end of this article with this awareness.
Tina Seelig says, “Questions are the frames into which answers fit. If you change the frame, you change the access to potential solutions.”
To change this frame, you must pay close attention to the structure, scale, and assumption parameters of the question you ask. With this and future articles at hand, you’ll hopefully feel more equipped to explore these parameters and expand your capacity to ask questions and search for answers.
Do not forget, our goal is not only to enable us to ask more questions but also to ask better questions. The right questions are those that initiate concrete and action-oriented thinking processes.
I hope you found this article informative and thought-provoking. If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions for improvement, I’d love to hear from you. Hope to see you at the next one!