My Paradise

I was watching a TED conference talk by Kary Mullis on ted.com the other day and it made me realize that I am a scientist to the core. I remember doing experiments when I was a kid. Some were fairly normal kid things (I think), others involved flammable liquids and I very well could have burned a house down. Somehow I was lucky enough to have (what I consider) just the right amount of supervision as a kid. My parents encouraged me to discover things on my own, but guided me to the correct ways to make those discoveries. This was the first seed of science in my life. From discovering ways to manipulate computer programs on an Apple IIe to catching bugs (including those with stingers) and examining them to understand them better. I was always encouraged to discover answers on my own. For me discovering the answers on my own is the best way to learn. I have the most noble of intentions to go on learning for the remainder of my days. I don’t think I will ever know or understand everything that I want to, so why would I stop trying?

How do you learn best? Can you accept things on faith, or someone simply telling you it’s true? Do you have to pry to find the true answers? Are you a scientist?

Tags: Education, Experiment, Learning, Science.