Think like a 3 year old

When my son was young, he was insanely curious. He wanted to know everything.

“What’s that?” “That’s a bike.”

“Why?” (What do you mean, why?) “Because that’s what we call it.”

“How do you know?” And so on.

One time we were at a vintage amusement park and one of the rides was not running. “Why can’t we go on that one?” “Because it’s broken.” “Why?” “Because an elephant sat on it” my dad responded. I was horrified that my dad had just lied to my son, but he continued, “Daughter, he doesn’t need the answer, he just needs an answer.”

When I taught research methods, I encouraged them to be curious and pay attention. Think like a 3 year old, I urged them – “What’s that? Why? How do you know?