The big question | Anjini Karthik | TEDxRidderParkDriveED

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

We all know children who asks a lot of questions. Anjini shares how important it is, especially in the area of the sciences, to be always asking questions. More importantly, she demonstrates why adults should let the children find the answers to their questions by themselves.

Host: Our next presenter is a superstar,

a 16-year-old superstar.

I had the pleasure
of speaking to her father.

right before this morning.

I asked him
because I was looking at her profile

for the past two weeks.

Wow! That is pretty darn awesome.

At 16 years old, right?

She is a student
from Saint Francis High School,

passionate about learning.

Her constant curiosity and wonder
have motivated her

to pursue independent scientific research,

which led her, by invitation,

to be inducted into
Sigma Xi Research Society.

As a father myself, I think to myself,

how do we guide our students

to do wonderful things like this?

Because, at 14,
she also created Inspire101.

Inspire101 is a program
that mentors middle-schoolers

in their science projects.

At 14, imagine what you were doing at 14.

So ladies and gentlemen,

it is my pleasure to bring up
Anjini Karthik

as our next awesome presenter.

(Applause)

Anjini Karthik: When I was
five years old, I was so excited.

I was wearing my favorite winter sweater

and playing with a balloon,

when I saw it stick to the wall.

It was like magic.

A few weeks later, I stood proudly

in front of a bright yellow poster board

at my school's science fair,

telling anyone who would listen

about my sticky balloon.

I was presenting,
what was literally titled,

"My first big question."

Questions beyond static electricity

quickly became a central part of my life.

When I was in 4th grade,
my uncle bought a Prius,

and everybody talked about
how it gave 50 miles per galleon.

I looked at it
and I just couldn't help but wonder,

why was that car so much better
than my dad's Nissan Maxima?

(Laughter)

And then in middle-school,

I decided I was going to challenge
my mom's cooking.

I wasn't really a huge fan
of her spicy Indian food.

So instead I asked,

"Were these spices even good for us,
the way she claimed?"

Every year, I investigated
a few of my big questions,

through avenue of science fairs,

starting with my school,

and eventually qualifying for local,
states- and national-level symposia.

This constant questioning
has brought me to today.

I've been working at university's labs
for the last five years.

I'm currently developing a tool

that can accurately detect
flu infection within 20 minutes.

And while I might open my research papers

with something
like Introduction or Purpose,

instead of the big question,

I strive to be as curious,
annoying, and questioning

as I was with that balloon.

Here's what I've noticed.

I volunteer with Science Buddies,

it's an online forum
where students of all grade levels

can post for help
with their science projects.

I get these kinds of inquiries a lot,
like "Urgent; need hypothesis."

Or "Must turn in proposal
by tomorrow, please help!"

But this example isarchetypal post.

One day, a student asked me
to help him identify

his independent, dependent,
and control variables for his experiment.

I didn't want to give him
the answer right away.

So instead, I questioned him back,

trying to have him think himself,
question himself into figuring it out.

He was pretty irritated.

But after a few back and forth posts,

he had independently and correctly

identified his variables.

And this time, he fully knew why.

But this whole process
just sort of got me thinking;

I see posts like this all the time.

Look, "I need 25 similes
and 25 metaphors from Huck Fin.

Please tell me which chapter they're in."

(Laughter)

I look at this and I realize

that Wikianswers, Google Answers, Ask.com

are filled with these kinds of inqueries.

And it just made me realize

how much we live
in an answer-driven system,

a system where the value of getting to it

is higher than that of sparking an idea.

Because we want the answers,

and we want them now.

But children are inherently curious.

They are questioners.

So, recently, in line of my work,
I ask a different sort of big question.

How can I take my experiences,

through which I've come
to love learning, to other students,

so that we can maintain
that adrenaline rush

that comes from investigation?

I don't have all the answers.

but to start with, two years ago,
I launched Inspire101.

It's an initiative where I work with

middle-schoolers
and their science teachers

on their science projects,
where students ask the questions.

With Inspire101, I've been
both an educator and a student.

In order to create
a love of learning in students,

we must first create
a culture of questioning.

And I believe that this
can be accomplished in three main ways.

First, start local.

Understanding the mindset
of the local community

is essential to making an impact.

To create this home-grown
questioning mindset,

we have to show our siblings, our parents,

and our students right next to us,

that questioning in the home,
and in the classroom matters.

Starting in an environment
that we are already familiar with

enables us to do this effectively.

Next, look beyond the student.

That one's a little counter-intuitive,

but engaging teachers is vital.

In my experience, students are
automatically and immediately

more enthusiastic
when their teachers become involved.

Conversely, when teachers
come to endorse questioning,

they not only legitimize this mindset

but also reach a much larger audience

than any individual
outside source could have.

By giving teachers the resources,

or the toolkit of questioning,

they become the agents of empowerment,

capable of reaching students
wherever they may teach.

Finally, always remember
that kids are inherently curious.

We don't have to go looking for curiosity

only to remind ourselves

that it's already there.

This is something I learn from Manny.

Manny's a seventh grader,

whom I worked with for a few months,

as he investigated
how various levels of music volume

influence concentration.

He eventually presented this project

at Saint Claire County's
Regional Science Fair, last March.

Manny independently identified
his big question,

and he conducted his experiment

with about 60 of his peers

at Columbia Middle School in Sunnyvale.

remembering to adjust
his independent variable,

which was music volume,

in many trials, as he ran
between desks and around desks

to turn up the volume or turn it down.

What I didn't know,

actually his teachers told me

only when we were typing up
the science fair board,

was that Manny had trouble reading,

had mild testing anxiety,

and was often in and out
of special aid classes.

And yet, the question he posed

was the first step

to something that's being investigated
by leading psychologists today.

So questioning is unversial.

It pays no attention
to resources or even to age.

I like to jokingly say, "Watch "Jeopardy!"

and I mean this figuratively,

although I highly recommend the show, too.

Because sometimes the answers
are just right in front of us,

But it's up to us to look at them

and say, "What is..?",

or better, "What can be...?"

So, in that way then,
asking questions are a part of us,

and it's a part that transcend science,

or English, or history,
or any other such field.

By channeling our questions,

we accelerate our development

as scientists, students, teachers,
innovators, and life-long learners.

I am grateful to all
my teachers and mentors,

for supporting me as I question.

Without my educators, my big question
might have been a solitary one.

I'd like to pose
one new big question to all of you:

With all the knowledge, and the curiosity

gathered here in this room alone,

how much can we do
to encourage ourselves and others

not to answer but to ask?

Thank you.

(Applause)