Thoughts on Human Curiosity

Human imagination is incredible. We are the only species in the universe (and it's a big place...) that we know of that creates things of beauty and art. We direct films. We write books. We cook food. We study physics. We wonder. Those are all things that are, as far as we know, unique to us. We're all flying through space at thousands of miles an hour, desperately trying to find our place in a universe that is constantly expanding at an unimaginable rate. The fact that I can even begin to comprehend that is extraordinary.

Many animals have been taught sign language, or some other form of communication. They can express feelings and thoughts. But what sets them apart from us, is that no animal has ever been observed to ask a question. Questions, the very foundation of every single on of our advancements as a civilization. Questions, the driving fuel of human inspiration. Questions belong to us. When nothing else we know of asks questions, we do. We recognize them as small investments towards learning. Isn't that breathtaking?

We're a race of seven billion individuals in a universe. A universe filled with billions of galaxies, each containing billions of those giant nuclear explosions we call stars! We are small... tiny compared to everything we know of. And yet, we are the only thing we know of capable of displaying curiosity. The only species with the capacity to go looking for answers, whether or not we're sure we'll find them! How can we be that small, and at the same time be so exceptional?

Go ask some questions, because you're one of the only things in this great big universe that can.