Albert Knox states that “It seems as if in the process of growing up we lose the ability to wonder about the world”. By this he means that as people get older, they lose their curiosity about our surroundings. With the build up of our world experiences and knowledge, people no longer feel enthralled by things we’ve seen over and over, due to the fact that those things have now been classified as ‘old’. I do agree to the context behind his quote. What I do not agree with is, is where Knox points out that we ‘lose’ the ability to wonder.
One example that backs up Knox’s statement is the part on page 15- 16, where a child is repeatedly entertained and fascinated by a dog. To him/her, it is an unknown creature. For those who are ‘older and wiser’, we recognize it for what it is- a dog- and it doesn’t excite us anymore. As the baby grows, he/she too will encounter the dog more and more, until one day he/she no longer squeals with joy at the sight of it. I think that the same goes for anything in life. The more we see and experience, the less interest and curiosity is shown.
We gradually learn about the fine division between what is ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’. Think about in the incident on page 17, where baby Thomas, Mom and Dad have breakfast in the kitchen. As dad flies, baby Thomas is fascinated. This is not because of his dad is flying- he is constantly amused by anything anyone does. Contrasting this to Mom’s reaction- mom ‘screams’, only because dad’s action is categorized as ‘abnormal’. Of course we are not surprised at both Thomas and Mom’s reactions since we are all aware that Thomas has not yet learnt what is distinctively normal, whilst Mom has.
Our ability to wonder about the world is timeless.
The situation here is to decide whether or not to question and wonder about the world. Of course, given the choice, many people would naturally opt for the easier option, which is not to question. Enquiring may put you outside of your comfort bubble, leaving you dazed and confused. Furthermore, everyone is so caught up with their daily life and the surprises that face us ahead, that we don’t really make the effort to set aside time to wonder about the past. (Sorry that I’m straying away from the question here..) My point here is simple- we do not ever ‘lose’ our ability to wonder.
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2 comments:
I agree with you when you say that as people get older they start to lose their curiosity about their surroundings.
I also think that the examples you chose (the dog and the baby) to use to illustrate your points were good.
The overall structure of you blog along with the content makes it easy to read, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of the exact points you were trying to make.
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