A problem is a good thing | Warren. Berg, "The Age of Great Questions"

In class, the audience asked Teacher Qiu, "If you don't need to go to school, you can get the knowledge required by the school, so is it okay not to go to class?" The teacher replied, "Good question, then ask if you go to school just to learn knowledge." Another Classmate A Zhi said, "Of course going to school is not only about learning knowledge, but also getting to know friends and learning how to get along with people. Although you can learn knowledge by yourself, it is only limited to knowledge and there is no interpersonal communication." Teacher Qiu said, "A Zhi's That's a good point..." Before Mr. Qiu finished speaking, the audience immediately said: "You can indeed make friends in school, but it cannot be denied that some people are bullied in school, leaving bad memories, and "interpersonal" is not a school The assessment requirements, no matter how many friends there are, can’t help students get into a better school.” Teacher Qiu said, “What you said is reasonable, but what do you think is a good school?” Ask questions, then answer them, then throw new ones, and so on. After class, Zhongdu said to Azhi, "Teachers like Mr. Qiu who encourage students to ask questions are very rare." And if you don’t understand, you don’t understand, super good teacher.” Zhong Du said, “Unfortunately, many teachers only ask students to listen to the class carefully, not to ask more questions, and they almost quarreled with them a few times.” Azhi said, “ There is no way, many teachers think that asking questions is a manifestation of challenge, it will shake their own authority, and they are even more afraid that they will be regarded as 'ignorant' if they cannot answer students' questions." Zhongdu continued: "There are still many teachers who are content with the status quo, After finishing the class and receiving the salary, there is no motivation or opportunity to change.” Azhi continued: “One of the characteristics of people is to be content with the status quo. For some people, it is painful to change, so they prefer to keep everything as it is.” The two were talking, and Zhong Du suddenly had an idea: "Tomorrow we can discuss the 'problem' with Teacher Qiu." Azhi said, "Good idea."

The next day, in Teacher Qiu's class again, the audience couldn't wait to ask, "Mr. Qiu, can we discuss 'questions' in this class?" Teacher Qiu said, "Yes, as long as you have any questions, you can ask them." Azhi asked, "Qiu Teacher, why do you keep encouraging questioning?” Teacher Qiu thought for a while and said, “Questioning is a concrete manifestation of curiosity, questioning means thinking, and encouraging questioning is encouraging thinking , people think, and then ask questions, and knowledge increases And when you ask questions after seeing different things, you are thinking about existing facts and opinions . Everything comes from its own origin. If you know how to ask questions, you are seeking knowledge." Azhi thought for a while and said, "Thinking about existing facts and opinions, You won’t take things for granted, there is a book titled “Refusing to Think for Granted,” and learning is the process of asking questions and then pursuing answers.” Teacher Qiu nodded in agreement.

The audience went on to say: "While thinking about the existing things, you may be able to answer the question from a different angle. I have seen "The Age of Great Questions", and there is a story about Van Philips' improved prosthesis." Teacher Qiu said, "Let's hear it." The audience said, "Philip lost his left foot in an accident in 1976, and was fitted with a prosthetic limb. The prosthesis back then was just a wooden stick and foam rubber. Phillips described walking on the prosthetic as "walking on a rock the size of peanuts". People around him tried to get him to accept everything, including the prosthetic. But Phillips didn't, he asked the question instead, Why does American aviation technology continue to develop, but it can't make people with broken legs "down to earth"?" Azhi said: "What did Phillips do after asking questions?"

The audience said: "Philips tried to ask 'Why don't they have a better prosthetic limb?' and then asked, 'Why didn't they make a better foot?' And instead of just asking, he didn't move. Tried to find the answer on his own. He got a job at a prosthetic lab in Utah and began to understand, 'Why does a prosthesis look like this.'" Azhi said, "He didn't accept reality just because he knew it?"

The audience said: "No, understanding the status quo is only the first step, and changing is the second step , and it is much harder than the first. He spent nearly ten years trying to design a better foot. However, he will definitely encounter a lot of problems, put forward hypotheses, make models, and then fall down. If he fails, he will ask: " Why not, where did it fail? " After that, he put forward hypotheses again and made new models. , he fell again, and reviewed again. Some of his assumptions were quite interesting, such as "What would happen if the effect of the diving board bounce was replicated to a prosthetic limb?" "What would happen if a human leg could resemble a cheetah?" "Why not Abandon the L-shaped lower limbs and feet?" "What would be the effect if the feet were made into a smooth continuous curve without the heel?" "Flex-Foot Cheetah", and because of the "elastic legs", people with leg disabilities can walk like ordinary people, climb Mount Everest, and participate in sprint races." Azhi said: "He not only improved the prosthesis, but also changed the The world! Just like Edison and Jobs, they are so strong!” Teacher Qiu said, “I think Edison and Jobs must have encountered a lot of problems when they tried to invent the light bulb and the iPhone, and then they had to ask them again. Hypothesis, test again, until the effect is satisfactory.”

The audience said: "If you want to solve a problem, you must first understand the problem. This is the first step, asking 'why' (WHY). Many things in modern society are invented through why. ATMs (why banks are closed) , can’t get the money?), washing machine (why do people wash clothes one by one?), camera (why can’t show the scene in front of you?), and then put forward a hypothesis (What if), if the bank is closed, How can a machine help customers withdraw money? Can a machine help without washing clothes by hand? Can it record the scene in a short period of time without using pen and paper? Hypotheses and experiments (How) During the experiment, you will definitely encounter more problems than you imagined, and you will learn more knowledge than you imagined. You will also ask more different questions. In other words, the angle of thinking has changed. Why is penetration , What if is an extension, and how is an evidence." Azhi said, "Why, What if, and How are the thinking formulas that are amazing!"

The audience said: "Yes, I am also using it, but the author pointed out that you can ask a lot of questions, but you need to rank the questions, which ones should be dealt with first, and don't rush to solve the problem, just put it in your head and think carefully. Maybe one day I'll come up with an interesting answer." Azhi said, "You don't have to think about it by yourself. Maybe you can find someone to think about it together. Maybe you will have a better perspective and ideas. If you want to write a good article, you can go directly to Teacher Qiu. If you want to read a good book, you can ask Zhongdu. If you want to see a good anime, you can ask me." Teacher Qiu said, "This is a good addition. 'We' are smarter than 'I'. Is there anything else you want to say or ask about Zhongdu?"

The audience said: "Of course there is. The book also mentions that asking questions is to realize that you don't know and don't understand ..."

Source of pictures in the text:

Flex-Foot Cheetah: https://www.ossur.com/en-us/prosthetics/feet/flex-foot-cheetah

Runner photo: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/paralympian-jonnie-peacock-with-his-prosthetic-running-blade/kgEuXrC8vUbIXQ