Embedded Files
**“The Forgotten Questions Behind Our Knowledge”**
As a teacher, I often sit in classrooms filled with formulas, theorems, laws, and definitions neatly written on the board. Students memorize them, solve problems with them, sometimes even score well with them. But deep inside, I keep asking myself: *do they really understand what these words mean?*
You see, everything we study today—be it in science, philosophy, economics, or engineering—was once an *answer*. But an answer to what? To a question someone, somewhere, bravely asked.
Take a simple example. Newton’s Laws of Motion. In every textbook, they sit like commandments. But before Newton, there was a question: *why do things move the way they do? Why does the apple fall, why does the planet not?* It was this burning curiosity that gave birth to the answers we now recite. Yet in classrooms, we only inherit the answers, rarely the question.
This is the tragedy of our academic system: we treat knowledge as a fixed monument, not as a living conversation. We worship the answer but forget the curiosity that built it. And when you forget the question, the answer becomes hollow—a set of words to remember, not a truth to understand.
Imagine if, instead of starting with Archimedes’ principle, we began with the question he must have had: *why does the crown not weigh the same in water as in air?* Imagine if, instead of starting with Ohm’s law, we asked: *how exactly does electricity behave when it flows through different materials?* Suddenly, the subject breathes. It no longer feels like a rule imposed, but a discovery shared.
When I tell my students this, I ask them to stop for a moment before they read the next definition. Don’t ask, *what is the answer?* Ask instead, *what was the question?* Because when you search for the real question, you begin to see knowledge differently. The subject comes alive, and you are no longer a passive receiver of facts—you are a participant in the same adventure that drove Newton, Archimedes, or Einstein.
Knowledge without its question is like a skeleton without life. But knowledge with its question becomes a story, a journey, an unfolding mystery.
So my philosophy as a faculty is simple: seek the real question. Don’t settle for memorizing answers. If you find the question behind what you’re studying, the answer will not only make sense—it will stay with you forever.
And who knows? In chasing questions, you might even find new ones that no one has asked yet. That is where true learning begins.
### Archimedes in the Bathtub
### Archimedes in the Bathtub
Another day, while teaching buoyancy, I didn’t start with Archimedes’ principle. Instead, I told them the story:
Another day, while teaching buoyancy, I didn’t start with Archimedes’ principle. Instead, I told them the story:
“Imagine you are a king, and you suspect your goldsmith cheated you, mixing silver into your crown. How would you prove it—without melting the crown?”
“Imagine you are a king, and you suspect your goldsmith cheated you, mixing silver into your crown. How would you prove it—without melting the crown?”
They began suggesting wild ideas—scratch it, break it, weigh it. When I narrated how Archimedes leapt out of his bathtub shouting *Eureka!* because he found the question’s answer in water displacement, the classroom erupted in smiles.
They began suggesting wild ideas—scratch it, break it, weigh it. When I narrated how Archimedes leapt out of his bathtub shouting *Eureka!* because he found the question’s answer in water displacement, the classroom erupted in smiles.
For the first time, Archimedes’ principle wasn’t just a formula. It was the thrill of a detective story. And it all began with a question.
For the first time, Archimedes’ principle wasn’t just a formula. It was the thrill of a detective story. And it all began with a question.
### The Power of Questions
### The Power of Questions
Moments like these remind me of my philosophy as a faculty:
Moments like these remind me of my philosophy as a faculty:
* Every piece of knowledge is an answer.
* Every piece of knowledge is an answer.
* Every answer is meaningless unless you know the question.
* Every answer is meaningless unless you know the question.
* If you want real understanding, don’t memorize the answer—seek the question.
* If you want real understanding, don’t memorize the answer—seek the question.
Because when students find the real question, something magical happens. They stop being passive receivers of information. They become explorers. They feel connected to the minds of Newton, Archimedes, or Einstein—not because they memorize what these geniuses found, but because they share the same curiosity that drove them.
Because when students find the real question, something magical happens. They stop being passive receivers of information. They become explorers. They feel connected to the minds of Newton, Archimedes, or Einstein—not because they memorize what these geniuses found, but because they share the same curiosity that drove them.
### A Living Conversation
### A Living Conversation
Academics often feels like a museum of answers: glass cases filled with polished facts. But real learning is not about staring at exhibits—it is about joining the conversation that created them.
Academics often feels like a museum of answers: glass cases filled with polished facts. But real learning is not about staring at exhibits—it is about joining the conversation that created them.
When you seek the question, you breathe life into knowledge. You see science, not as rigid laws, but as evolving stories. You see philosophy, not as final truths, but as attempts to answer timeless doubts. You see engineering, not as formulas, but as solutions to human problems.
When you seek the question, you breathe life into knowledge. You see science, not as rigid laws, but as evolving stories. You see philosophy, not as final truths, but as attempts to answer timeless doubts. You see engineering, not as formulas, but as solutions to human problems.
And sometimes, in chasing the original question, you may stumble upon a new one—one no one has asked before. That is where true discovery begins.
And sometimes, in chasing the original question, you may stumble upon a new one—one no one has asked before. That is where true discovery begins.
### Final Thought
### Final Thought
So to my students, and to anyone who has ever felt lost in the maze of academic answers, I say this: *don’t stop at the answer. Seek the question.*
So to my students, and to anyone who has ever felt lost in the maze of academic answers, I say this: *don’t stop at the answer. Seek the question.*
Because the real question is the seed. The answer is only the tree. If you learn only the tree, you may admire it. But if you learn the seed, you can grow your own forest.
Because the real question is the seed. The answer is only the tree. If you learn only the tree, you may admire it. But if you learn the seed, you can grow your own forest.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse