in the words of Ypelha… what is your strongest emotion, and why?
That’s an interesting question, isn’t it? I’d say my strongest emotion is curiosity. Definitely curiosity. Look at this old man; even at my age, I’m still asking myself all kinds of questions! Just today, I was walking down the streets of midtown, and I noticed a bird I’ve never seen before, and I stop and think to myself, “What is this? Why haven’t I seen it before? Do they normally live here? If not, where did it migrate from?” Other days, I’d be off on my own, not paying attention to any of my surroundings, and all of a sudden, I’d start wondering about a random topic that happened to pop into my mind. Or I’d meet someone new, and become intrigued in how their story and background differs from mine. Or sometimes I’d notice something completely insignificant, such as the way a shadow was formed around a corner, or the way the municipal shoveled the snow on the sidewalk, and then I’d spend a few minutes wondering why these details even caught my attention.
You know, it really does stem from the curiosity we all have as children. All of us are born with that spark, that drive, to experiment with the world and discover the secrets that it has to offer. Unfortunately, a lot of people lose that curiosity after going through grade school, but for some of us, that curiosity stays with us. I suppose for my case, it helps that most of what I do, or at least what I’ve done in the past, is research, and most of what my parents did was research. It disciplines you to ask questions constantly and probe deeper below the surface. Healthy skepticism, for example. Don’t just trust the first paper you pick up and read. Do these arguments make sense? or are there biases at play? As a researcher, your education doesn’t just end with school. If you are a good researcher, you will be learning for the rest of your life.
And I think it’s very fulfilling; that prospect of it. I’m proud to say I’m a lifelong learner. It keeps you flexible; an interdisciplinary individual who can deal with a wide range of tasks. It keeps you young, as the constant flow of thoughts keeps your brain from stagnating. Yes, sometimes curiosity gets me into trouble. You know how the saying goes: curiosity killed the cat. I’d get a little too interested into the details of someone’s personal life or appear to be a freak, morbidly curious in something I “should not be” interested in. But usually in the end, that curiosity was worth it.
I sometimes wonder if this scope of curiosity is uncommon. There have been a few instances in the past where, in my discussions with others, even with old colleagues of mine, I bring up a topic I have or had found interest in and they would wonder aloud, “Oh? I didn’t know you were interested in X,” or “Why are you looking into Y?” And I’ll be honest, you know, in those moments I couldn’t feel more proud of myself, because it really does make you a more sensitive human being. There are certainly many days where I feel other emotions more strongly, but if I consider the grand scheme of my career as an academic, curiosity definitely shaped most of what I did.