I remember how asking why to everything I encountered was my first language as a kid and the bane of my parents’ existence. Sometimes, my whys rolled out in succession; one answer was never enough. And even then, I had a barrage of whys locked and loaded to go, only quietened by exasperated sighs and convenient distractions.
As a kid, I never stopped asking to know more.
But as an adult—
I google a question and feel done.
Sadly, I have a dearth of whys.
I rush to have an answer.
When I encounter unknowns, newness, icky problems, I sprint towards an explanation, accepting the first one I find. I realise that I seek, not to understand, but to feel right.
I’ve seen this in friends who are highly curious too; that very curiosity can sometimes get in the way of sitting with uncertainty or taking the time to probe deeper into many possibilities.
It’s partly because the feeling when things click is satisfying; pieces of meaning falling into place like a rewarding game of Tetris. So, I reach for it, sooner and sooner each time, trading depth for superficiality.
The pleasure of knowing cannot wait.
At times, I allow myself the illusion that I’m letting problems percolate. That I’m considering more than one opinion or source. But the truth is, I’ve already cosied up with that first explanation. The rest is a mere semblance of contemplation.
I like to learn things, to explore new passions. But even then, I rush. Stumbling upon wells of knowledge, picking up bits of facts I can hold, and relishing the skeleton of mastery I think I have acquired.
Sigh.
Thankfully, somewhere along the way, I found the awareness to see through this veil of supposed speculation. I note, with painfully mustered patience, that I’m drawn to complexity but rarely tolerate it. I plead for newness but grasp at any familiarity I uncover. I thirst to know more but don’t take the time to understand it.
How am I a patchwork of paradoxes?
Perhaps, you are too. And that’s okay.
But in the day and age that we live in, it’s possible to completely lose our tolerance for complex problems. When AI can not only find answers but reason for you, how long will it take to start outsourcing deep thinking on a daily basis to a machine? It’s kind of scary to even acknowledge it.
So, it’s important to spark a desire for deep understanding, to be intellectually curious. Here’s an idea that’s helping me expand my capacity for serious thought:
Treat every unknown or complexity as an experiment.
Scientists are great at this. Science, if you think about it, is a series of experiments aimed at getting the best possible outcome. When the first experiment fails, there’s still much to learn. There’s no scramble to get to an answer; just multiple attempts to understand.
If you’ve ever attended a yoga class, you might have heard it being called a practice or abhyasa. The very language invites you to take your time to build knowledge. It’s not a quest for perfection but an ongoing ritual of learning.
So, what if we take inspiration from a scientist or yogi?
Instead of simply gathering facts, we can practice trying, introspecting, and perusing beyond the obvious or initial solution. We can reason and debate, becoming comfortable with the time and effort it takes. And eventually, we may notice that the gratifying feeling of discovery is sweeter when unraveling complexity, thread by thread.
If this feels too airy to resonate, start by just using the language: experiment, practice, trial, iterate, assay, sample—anything that encourages slowness, depth, and pace. Words are powerful in leading action.
You can even try delaying the first answer. When something puzzles you, write down a few possible explanations before googling or asking ChatGPT. Channel your inner kid and ask a few whys.
Over time, perhaps, you won’t feel compelled to rush to an answer. You might even tolerate sitting cross-legged with complexity—unhurried, patient, and thinking deeply.
At least, that’s how I’m learning.
Drop a note, say hi, tell me what you think.
Come hang out on Instagram. 💌
Stop waging war against the em dash. Good grammar was here long before AI. 🤓
This is so true. As I was reading, I was reminded of the 'Anchoring Bias' - A cognitive bias that our minds often anchor to the first explanation we hear, or a fact we hear that makes logical sense but may not actually be factual, our minds anchor and it becomes increasingly difficult to replace that anchor into a new fact or explanation that doesn't line up with the anchor we've already made! Super interesting. I also love that you touch on AI, and outsourcing our thinking for the reasons and answers of a computer that gives us instantaneous satisfaction of a reasonable explanations. As I was walking on the treadmill this morning, I was listening to 'Diary of a CEO's' recent video "listen to this before you use ChatGPT again" and he sits with two neurologists to talk about benefits and the negative impacts AI is having/ will likely have. They spoke about a study of 3 groups at MIT university. The first group was allowed to use ChatGPT to write their essay, the second group couldn't use AI, but could use Google. And the third group was not allowed to use any tools. As they watched the brain functions of each group, they could literally see that the group using AI had significantly less synapses firing, they couldn't remember or recite information from the essay AI wrote for them and the felt no ownership for what was created. The Google group had more synapses firing and brain activity, but the group that couldn't use any tools, their brains were completely lit up, they also could recite most of the essay, they had much longer retention of the information they wrote about because they created neural pathways AS they were writing. I think there are benefits to AI, I've used it and can attest that it helps with productivity, but there's much of our brains, thinking, etc that we shouldn't be outsourcing to AI. What we don't use, we lose, and gosh I never want to lose my creativity, my capacity to think logically, and sit with the discomfort of not knowing. They are truly gifts.
Loved the topic and the way you explained…
It is just not AI…it is also people who are wanting quick answers for their convenience and not finding a solution to why’s….This has already influenced completely into the 90’s kids who blindly believe google knows everything than their own brains ….and the bitter truth is that schools now a days are comfortable teaching children online and asked them get printouts when go to school which lessens the writing habit…they don’t understand the power of creative thinking and just vomit what google says😜😜
This can be changed or influenced by young and creative writers like you who believe in understanding your inner self first before talking to google…writing makes your brain remember things for longer which can never be cleared by a click….
Keep writing more on such topics and explore more 👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻👌🏻
You rock ❤️