Ask questions to clear your mind

Cleaning the mind

I am usually a contemplative and reflective person. Asking open-ended questions feels therapeutic to my mind. While I am specific and practical with everyday logistical situations, my imagination soars when I need to de-clutter my mind.

Recently I finished reading a book – When Things Start to Think by Neil Gershenfeld. It is a fantastic book of research on human-machine interfaces. The book triggered my contemplative mood. I went on a questioning journey to clear out my cluttered mind. Below is the random list of questions I came up with.

List of Questions

1. What if the Sun and the Earth were the same sizes?
2. What if there were no life forms in the water?
3. What if Earth had no atmosphere?
4. What if plants had no chlorophyll?
5. What if there was no colour in the world?
6. What if the world existed only in 2 dimensions?
7. What if humans had 6 limbs instead of 4?
8. What if the average size of a human being was 1 foot bigger?
9. What if humans had no vocal cords?
10. What if the humans did not feel pain?
11. What if humans were immortal?
12. What if the world’s human population was 7 million?
13. What if boundaries between countries did not exist?
14. What if languages did not exist?
15. What if cooking was never invented?
16. What if metallurgy was never invented?
17. What if agriculture was never invented?
18. What if the wheel was never invented?
19. What if fossil fuels were never discovered?
20. What if the paper was never invented?
21. What if the printing press was never invented?
22. What if the steam engine was never invented?
23. What if the sewing machine was never invented?
24. What if photography was never invented?
25. What if air travel was never invented?
26. What if the transistor was never invented?
27. What if the atomic bomb was never made?
28. What if the computer was never invented?
29. What if the mobile phone was never invented?
30. What if plastic was never invented?

Ask more, worry less

The simple exercise of listing down questions proved cathartic and I felt much invigorated afterward. I have written about this practice of asking questions earlier too. I urge you all to try this out for yourselves.

More importantly, allow your children to thrive in the practice of asking questions – it triggers their curiosity and nurtures their creativity immensely. It is not only answers that provide clarity. Questions can clear up the mind too.

Stay curious! Stay thirsty!

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Dr. Soumya Sreehari

Co-Founder and Specialist at NumberNagar®

Dr. Soumya is an Educator and Researcher with a passion for reading, writing and teaching. She holds a PhD in Chemistry (Michigan Technological University, Houghton, USA). Her experience as a student and a teacher in two countries led her to pursue a career in Education. Her core work at NumberNagar® involves quality delivery of product and services at every stage of the customer life cycle. She leads the team that makes this happen. Previously she has taught Chemistry to first year undergraduate students at Michigan Technological University. She is a voracious reader and challenges herself to read 50 books every year.

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