[Ken Leung]

Heidi,

After spending many hours with these questions, I would like to share my views on them. They are different from yours, but I don’t think that means either of us are wrong. I shall present them to you and leave it up to you and the rest of the readers to decide whether there are merits to them.


I think that time and time again, human beings have shown that they strived for the greater understanding of this world despite the limitations set upon them by their culture, their environment, and their habits.

Take natural phenomenon such as fire, lightning and rain for example. At the beginning human beings were extremely fascinated by them, like you and I would with some spectacular magic tricks. But through out the course of history humans continue to wonder about reasons behind these magical occurrences, and tried really hard to come up with theories to explain them. (Whether with ideas of gods/goddess as early civilization did, or with theories formed by scientists through the scientific method of experiment and hypothesis is beside the point.)

I think humans are born with a natural curiosity toward everything, a curiosity that pushes them to observe, think, and experiment until they understand something. I also think that fulfilling this curiosity doesn’t mean you are going to lose the enjoyment of the show. If anything, it might even increase your fascination of how amazing this world really is. One thing I know is that by and large human beings have not lost their sense of wonder of this world after learning all the knowledge about it. And I believe this is because there is a greater enjoyment that comes from a sense of understanding, one that cannot be fulfilled with even the most elaborate, impossible magic trick.


How to learn the right way?

I happen to agree that there is no absolute right way of learning, other than what’s “right for you”. You are right that most people can only teach you how they’ve done it, but without knowing that there are different ways of learning, and that you should find one most suitable to you, you are more likely not going to seek out different ways of learning and actually find the right one for yourself. Perhaps the biggest complaint I have about this is that through out most of my public school education no one has ever shown me different ways of learning. It was always homework, testing, reading, and grades, a method that I now realize wasn’t really suitable for me at all.


How to maintain innocence and fascination when growing up?

I also agree that fascination cannot be taught. It is impossible to maintain the innocence of a child when you grow up, but at the same time, it is very easy to lose all of it before you know you’ve lost them. Every time you see something that convince you to be just a little more cynical, you lose a little of your innocence, and most people aren’t even aware of the importance of keeping your inner child, much less thinking about maintaining it. But as I said, just because you know more doesn’t mean you have to lose your fascination and innocence. So, it is a constant struggle between maturity and innocence, and I think it is important to find a balanced point between the two. It is also a struggle between cynicism and innocence, and with the culture we have these days, I would settle for a fair fight between the two.



By now, I’ve come to believe that a lot of these things can only be shown, not taught. However, I am frustrated by the lack of emphasis on these questions, which, I believe, are some of the most important question everyone need to ask themselves when they are growing up. But, again, I understand that people are different, and maybe these questions aren’t suitable to everyone. However, just think how many people could’ve benefited from these questions if they knew to ask them! This is why I think it is better to expose all method of learning to a person and let him/her choose which one is most suitable, instead of generalizing one method and expect everyone to be successful from it.

As to how is that person going to choose the learning method right for them, that’s another discussion.

-Ken L

P.S. Congratulation on finding your lost dream again. I've recently found a lot of things I've lost since childhood, and I realize how fortunate it is to find something you've lost. Good luck!