Questions alert II-Asking the right ones

What was it again that the Great Carl Sagan said?!
“Knowing is a kind of ecstasy”

Moving from Ignorance to Knowledge is like a game of chess with no end... The more you play it, the deeper it goes.
But like it happens with everything, you become better by doing and repeating. Experience will rise, along with the satisfaction of gaining new undiscovered ground, which is now yours to keep. If one thinks about it, in this life to know is just about everything there is... Okay, besides having a few million dollars...

Let us see it in the following manner: If Knowledge is constructed by a material called Answer... Then the equivalent material for Ignorance would be Question.
In order to acquire Answers we must first have Questions...
Funny as it may sound, in order to have Knowledge of anything, we first need to have Ignorance...
So, what is it what we usually do? We rush off to find our Answers without giving any kind of value or second thought to our Questions. And then, sometimes knowledge comes to us, sometimes it does not. But part of our failure in the hunt for an Answer has to do with our tendency to underestimate our Ignorance, simply because we dislike it...
Ignorance is just as important because it is the motive, it is the fuse with which we can ignite the desire to Know. And desire, as we all know, is an unstoppable power.

The above thinking could make a short Japanese “Aikido” story...

A young man from Wyoming leaves literally everything behind to pursue his dream of becoming a Martial Artist. With great difficulty and many obstacles to overcome he travels to Japan and from there he makes his way to a remote village in the mountains. Once there, he would seek an old Master of the Art, who is living there... The day came and as he stood outside the Master’s doorsteps ready to knock, he finds himself in agony, since being rejected was a high possibility and a risk he knew all along...
The old man acts in kind, takes him in, offers him a cup of tea and patiently listens to the young man’s long journey and dreams... But then he responds in a most peculiar way... He hands the young man a wooden practicing sword and a short manual, which at first glance makes no meaning to him at all, and sends him politely right back where he came from, telling him “everything you need to know lies right where you stand”

For those who are not as much into Koan (anecdote-like Japanese stories) we would have to look into this a bit...
All the values, all the power, all the techniques, all the wisdom, all this and more, would be accomplished by the young man’s motive. The old Master could immediately detect and recognize the “quality of Ignorance” of that young man... If he could not, who else could?
So, if he would be to remain there, the young man’s dream would be finally fulfilled and in effect he would put his motivation to sleep.
The old Master “saved” that, by sending him away. The story goes that one day the young man did become a Master himself...

If Ignorance is made of a material called Questions, let us see some “right Ignorance”

What is that? This is the most instinct question of them all... We could also say that it is well rooted with the past, since whatever the question “What is that” is aiming at, must already be in existence in order for us to ask about...
Children usually wish to know “What is that” even if they will not use the exact sentence. They do even better... They are pointing their finger at something, anything, and then turn their heads to us waiting for our response, waiting from us to tell them... This is their most important need. Once we grow we tend to forget that as children we are a kind of newcomers to a world where most things already exist before us...
It is in our instinct wanting to understand what is all that which surround us... Therefore, this question precedes all others and by asking it, it kind of gathers everything possible into one big enormous pile, in order for us to recognize...

Why In many ways this is maybe the most self-tormenting question ever. Just by asking it, it made us who we are as humans. It takes composure and insight to put it in the first place, and it slices to the core of everything... No science, no art, no philosophy, would exist without it. Asking “Why” could by itself be the proof of superior intellect.
Children, after having made sure “What is that”, demand to know “Why” It’s not always easy to answer them, because understanding why is like a sudden light that goes on in our mind, it’s not something you can be told about, you can maybe be directed, but you must discover it for yourself...

If time had a scent, the question Why would strongly smell like the present... Because even if you ask about the Pyramids, the Pharaohs, the mummies and the hidden treasures, it is you who wishes to understand why and you want to know now.
So, when we are deep into the effort of understanding Why (please give it a moment of thought before you answer this) where does our finger point to?! It does not point onto something exterior, like in the “What is that?” question... It either points to our head because we are kind of scratching it, or are holding our temple... Or we cross all our finders to each other near our chin... “Why” is a most self-concentrating question.

I have never met anyone who would not want to know “Why” about any matter... We simply cannot resist Knowledge no matter how painful the revelation might be...
There is one exception of course... You stretch both arms and legs in rejection, screaming “Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know why” when it regards stupidity!!!

What if... We have seen the question that is instinctively asked... We have seen the question which elevates the intellect... Is it not time to have a little fun?! How dull life would be without a little creative fantasy, how life could even be, without Imagination!
This question has little meaning when taken into the past... And it neither looks comfortable in the ever escaping present... “What if...” is all about the possibilities of the future... And the only way to reach out and grasp the future is to dream of it, or better said, to imagine it...
To ask “What if...” is to plant the seed of the future...

We need to escape our Ignorance, and doing so requires a good escape plan. One thing is for sure... If put carefully, these three questions will never fail you...
It is our nature to ask “What is that” than contemplate “Why” and then spread the wings of Imagination and wonder “What if...”

It is not every question that deserves an answer
Publilius Syrus

August 5, 2015