What triggers your curiosity to learn more? Over this long and messy February Break as I was checking Facebook posts, I found this quote by Neil deGrasse Tyson:
I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.
Not only did this resonate with me, but it prompted me to google Neil deGrasse Tyson....which, of course, led to additional clicks along the way. I had read in Parade magazine (there I go again, honey, check post of 8/13/13) about his new Fox/National Geographic show and was intrigued then. But, when I saw the trailer, I was hooked! I cannot wait for Sunday, March 9th to see the first episode. Click here to see the trailer: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. Goosebumps, anyone?
As I continued my Google research, I found more links, which triggered more curiosity about science, religion, our fragile ego systems, poetry, physics, and yes, even politics. One link caught my eye. Entitled "The Greatest Sermon Ever," how could I resist? My father was a Lutheran minister in Baltimore, and I had heard my share of inspiring sermons as a child. Yet, this one I had to check out: Sermon on Cosmic Perspective. Sorry, Dad! This one really got to me.
We often talk about literacy because it will raise achievement scores, but what about science literacy? There's certainly a push to expand the study of math and science. STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs are the rage in education now. Yet, it seems like the primary motivation is that it will strengthen our economy, which is fine, but does it miss the mark? Will economics inspire our young people to learn more, remain curious, become better people, feel connected to others, and improve our world? What do you think?
Here's another Tyson quote:
Ignorance is a virus. Once it starts spreading, it can only be cured by reason.
For the sake of humanity, we must be that cure.
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