Did you know that the typical child asks about 40,000 questions between
the ages of 2-5 years old?
The world is a new and curious place for a child and asking questions like, “Why is the sky blue?” is one of the tools a child uses to understand their surroundings. (Isaac Newton can tell you that the answer to that question is far more scientifically complex than, “Because that’s just the way it is!”)
As a child grows towards adulthood, the quantity of questions asked declines and we humans use more assumptions to interpret our world. Definition of Assumption: a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.
Why do We Assume?
Just like our brain’s propensity to conserve energy by forming habits, the brain seeks to expend less energy by forming assumptions.
Yale researcher, Dr. David McCormick, describes this brain function, “There are over one hundred billion cells in our brain and each of them makes over ten thousand connections with other brain cells. While the large number of possible combinations of cell connections allows for higher-ordered thinking, this is a big problem evolutionarily in terms of energy cost. Therefore, the brain has to encode things efficiently to save energy.”
In an article from the Arbinger Institute the writer notes, “One way our brain saves energy is by making assumptions. We draw on our past experiences to find patterns in how the world works. When we encounter new situations, we apply these patterns—or assumptions—to the new environment.”
Assumptions help our brain be more efficient, but is that always a good thing?
Questioning
Deborah Meier, the pioneer of the ‘small school’ movement, developed five learning skills, or “habits of mind” that are the foundation for learning through inquiry:
Evidence: How do we know what’s true or false? What evidence counts?
Viewpoint: How might this look if we stepped into other shoes or looked at it from a different direction?
Connection: Is there a pattern? Have we seen something like this before?
Conjecture: What if it was different?
Relevance: Why does this matter?
Assumptions and Questioning
Pause on reading this blog for a moment…
Think back to a time when you made an assumption about a person or situation that turned out to be wrong. How would your viewpoint been different if you had taken a moment to be curious and ask yourself some questions?
Is what this person saying true?
What viewpoint/background are they coming from?
Have I seeing this situation before?
How important is this person’s opinion to me?
In the big picture, how important is this situation?
Give It a Try
1. Choose one of the five learning skills: Evidence, Viewpoint, Connection, Conjecture, or Relevance and write down the corresponding question. (i.e., Viewpoint: How might this look if we stepped into other shoes or looked at it from a different direction or Relevance: Why does this matter?)
2. When you find yourself making an assumption about a person or situation, ask yourself your chosen question.
3. How does asking the question change your thoughts about that person or situation?
4. Repeat and practice with adding one or two new questions from the list.
Our assumptions can play a key role in how we experience the world. What assumption(s) would you like to challenge by using the tool of questioning?
Adams, Heather. The Way Things Are: How Our Assumptions Get in Our Way. arbingerinstitute.com. Arbinger Institute. January 2018
Tu, Matt. How the Brain Saves Energy: The Neural Thermostat. yalescientific.org. Yale Scientific Magazine. September 2010
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