I just want to know

Wonderful explanation by Betül Kaçar on the simple of joys of asking questions without a goal in mind.

The Importance of Curiosity in Science

There are some questions that we need to ask simply because we don’t know the answer. My work looks into ancient life by studying ancient enzymes and tracking their evolution over long periods of time. First and foremost, it’s completely curiosity-driven discovery. I think it’s important to realize that science doesn’t necessarily need to serve humanity tomorrow. Ultimately, it comes from a place of just wanting to know, and isn’t that enough?

Most, I think, biggest discoveries in science come from that place where you just simply want to know, “How does this work?” for the sake of knowing.

Imagine you’re getting some tests at the doctor’s office. The results of your tests may be available to you in as little as two days because we discovered a way to speed up a screening process in the lab. How did we come up with that technology? Because we understood that we can use enzymes that can tolerate really high temperatures. That enzyme came from a microbe that is inside a really hot, inhospitable environment, like in Yellowstone.

So, somebody asked the question, “I want to know, what is inside this hot spring?” They found thermophiles, and we realized that if we borrow from these organisms, we may be able to use it for our own greater good. We are so obsessed with, “What is in it for me?” that we forget that maybe it’s okay if there’s nothing in it for you right now. Maybe we can also just simply explore because that’s what we do as humans. That’s the very definition of being a human. It’s one of the most beautiful things about ourselves.

Humanity’s Patience and the Scientific Method

Humanity is patient. It took us a long time to build what we have around us as a civilization. It took a really long time to invent the methods of science, too. We found a systemic way to correct ourselves all the time. It’s the best thing that we came up with as human civilization. And it just so happens that it benefited us. It created longer, healthier lives for us—even better. But it came from a very curious, childlike place.

That’s such an important essence for being a scientist. This is beautiful to me. One of us has to go and ask, “I want to know if this crazy lake has anything interesting in it?” We need to have that curiosity. And you may be the only person in the world that thinks this is interesting. This is beautiful to me. It’s just about, “I wanted to know.” That’s it. And that should be good enough.

https://youtu.be/T3AS_-2GnDI?si=_UJwRYtK-NaYh-pM

Pair this video with one of my favorite articles ever.