Sunday, July 12, 2020

88. Majoring in Wonder

88.Tversky dedicated his PhD dissertation to his father who, he says, "taught him to wonder."

Have you ever had someone in your life you encouraged you to take pleasure at the "mysteries of existence"?  Describe that person and how they taught you.

What current intellectual curiosities do you have that you hope to learn more about during your college years?

10 comments:

  1. My fifth grade science and math teacher, Mrs. Cantrell (Ada Schools) taught me how to wonder. Every week she would do a science experiment with us, and we would all write up a report on it complete with any questions it made us think of. From that point on I became fascinated with science-y things and loved how things would just fit together perfectly, like chemical reactions. You mix two things and bam! Whole new creation. It makes me question what humankind could do with a better understanding of all the things we don’t know yet. I would love to work at NASA someday.

    -Elizabeth Acree

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  2. Through the rest of my college career, I hope to learn more about the human body. I have always been fascinated since I was young about how we all work and function. It's what has guided me to my current major and hopefully my career later down the line. Even after only finishing two semesters, I've learned so much and am excited to learn more.

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  3. I have and the list is quite long, and it encompasses my entire immediate family. They, each in their own way, have opened my eyes to the wonders of this world. My list of curiosities is also quite long and are not organized around my chosen degree. I love agriculture, so I would like to study animal sciences especially those concerning infectious diseases, nutrition, and reproduction. I would also like to study in land management in areas concerning soil analysis and conservation. I enjoy studying psychology, physics, biology, chemistry, physical and earth sciences, literature, mathematics, history, and statistics among other things. I like to study the way the world works. I would also really like to study music and photography, and I harbor a love for aviation. I will someday acquire my commercial piolet license and become an aerial applicator (better known as a crop duster). Somewhat related to my wish to become an aerial applicator is my wish to acquire my A&P license and later my IA. While I know that I cannot possibly study all these subjects in depth as I would like to, I can gather some general knowledge in each of them. That is my goal.

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  4. My grandmother always told me that everyone has a purpose and everything happens for a reason. When she passed away the monumental impact she had left behind on everyone that she met amazed me. This has led me to question what my purpose is supposed and why things happen. How can people live their entire lives and be impacted by a moment with a specific person? As humans what qualifies the moment as memorable enough to hold on to? In my college years, I want to learn how to be an impactful person, to hopefully discover what my purpose is and what I should be doing with my fleeting existence.
    —Kimber Farris

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  5. My high school art teacher Shea Meyer taught me how to wonder, and made me ponder many interesting things during the course of my time in high school. He taught me to not only wonder about art, but life as well. We would always have very deep conversations during free periods or after school. He posed challenging questions to me, or just gave me pieces of advice that I will always remember. He taught me some of the mysteries of art and creation, and how to be a better artist, although he was the one that inspired my creativity in the first place. I still find it very interesting to practice new things with my art, or just learn the history of legendary works of art. I have always been, and will always be curious about space. The thought of space terrifies me and makes me feel very small, but at the same time intrigues me to no end. I have thought about taking astronomy classes in college to learn more about it.

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  6. 88. My mother had always told me, “asking questions is a sign of intelligence.” My mother attended college and always had a passion for learning more information. She has also given me my love for Jesus Christ, and he has told me that I have a purpose that the lord has given me. I think physics in everyday life and its applications are amazingly intricate and complex. This is one of many reasons that I have chosen to major in physics.

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  7. While it might sound cliche, and keeping with what Tversky said, the two people who first taught me to “take pleasure at the mysteries of existence” would be my parents. Throughout the duration of my academic career, as well as the path that I hope to be on after graduation, they have done nothing but be a constant source of encouragement and support. That support and encouragement from the very beginning is what has kept me curious about the “mysteries of existence.” When it comes to current intellectual curiosities that I hope to learn more about in my college years, I would have to say anything in the world of finance and accounting. I originally became an accounting major on a whim, and now I couldn’t imagine studying anything else.

    -Maggie Summers

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  8. I'm not so sure that anyone led me to wonder as much as my own doubt has. Growing up in a small town, I was taught that life had one specific way of being experienced, and anything outside of that was wrong. I think due to being told, from people around me, what I should be experiencing and then not relating to that truth, I've begun to doubt everything I am and believe because one person's reality seems to falsify another. This past year I started to stop and take in my surroundings even if all I was looking at was a field of grass. At first, it was just a grounding technique, used to pull me back to reality when my thoughts were storming. After doing it for a while, I noticed that not only would I stop to take everything in; I started to question the actuality of the things I thought to be experiencing. The sky at one point was just the sky, but when I looked at a sunset and added depth, it became an entrancing blue abyss with a red-orange ombre so soft it seemed as if the sun was whispering goodnight. These small moments when I reevaluate what I'm looking at and try to find some alternate meaning makes me doubtful of any human knowing what anything truly is. I use to think wisdom was a virtue, and I now believe that any man who claims to be wise is a fool. I hope to learn more about other people's truths and all the different perspectives on life. Writing this, I don't even know if I'm making cognitive sense. The idea I am trying to convey seems to run from me like it refuses to be made known.

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  9. The summer before eighth grade I moved from A small town in Texas, to Durant, Oklahoma. On the first day of class I met a girl who changed my life. I was at a new school, with new people, and anxiety though the roof. She was in a very similar situation, except it was her first year in public schools. Despite this, she took the initiative and started the conversation. From there we became best friends and I was able to experience how amazing she as a person was. She was so unapologetically herself and she acted as if everything was new. She lived every day like she was dying and it wasn't a bad thing. She got everything she could out of every experience. She taught me to live like every moment was a memory waiting to happen. Although I'm not as out going as she is, she has helped me come a long way. Because of her I continue to work on myself. I wish everybody had someone who could take there world, crack it open and show them everything beautiful about what they've never thought about. She taught me how to smile and mean it, how to laugh and love it, and how to live and want it. Everything means nothing and everything means everything. Nothing can mean everything if you believe that this life is full of wonders and possibilities. Every time can be our first time if we live everyday like it is new.

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  10. A friend I went to high school always tested me intellectually and I will always be thankful for him. His name is Cesar Ramirez. I had never thought deeply on a subject until Cesar's philosophical views made me wonder. From deep religious talks to trying to understand how the human brain works really pushed me to be smarter. The fact that there are so many questions that do not have a definite answer is mind boggling, and I am so thankful for the relationship and the talks that Cesar and me have had throughout the years. For example, Cesar is very interested in the Miar's Briggs personality quiz. The man nearly memorized everything about each different personality. The way people react to different situations and the way people use their brain in general has become fascinating to me because of Cesar.

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