Monday, April 30, 2012

The Real Fountainhead

Curiosity. If a single word underlines the progress of our species of evolved Apes, it is Curiosity. The ultimate fountainhead, the source of every single strand of knowledge. Every single invention and every single achievement of Man can be attributed to just this one word -- Curiosity.

Someone was curious about how to pull the cart faster ? Probably by putting wooden logs beneath it ? Or better, pin a round piece of the log to the cart. Came the Wheel. Someone was curious to know about the Sun rising in the East, about Eclipses and about patterns in Seasons. Came the knowledge on Astronomy. Someone was curious to express his vision of the world in the stone and on the canvas. Came David and Monalisa. Someone was curious about Rainbow and came the whole mess of Optics.  Another man was curious about how to manifest "nothing" and we got Zero.

Every single invention can be counted thus. It is this undying spirit of curiosity hardwired in us, that makes us the dominant (Still so galactically ignorant about the grand scheme of things that its baffling) species on this planet.

If curiosity is the Fountainhead, what is the slope that lets this stream of knowledge flow and gush ahead with a unstoppable energy ? That slope, that enabler is Freedom. Liberty. Azaadi.

Curiosity is nothing on its own unless supplemented by freedom to repeatedly ask difficult and disturbing questions and freedom to chase answers. In absence of Freedom to ask unpleasant question, the only consequence could be a Dark Age. No one can question the status quo, which is taken to be the absolute truth, the best way and progress stops. So, to move ahead, in this quest of life, let us remain curious, let's keep asking random  and outrageous questions and keep looking for answers for those questions.