Table of Contents
Part One— The Case for Transforming America
One — “ We lacked imagination.”
We need to follow the 9/11 Commission challenge to “routinize the practice of imagination” within all walks of life because there is so much evidence of our not challenging authorities, asking good questions about policies and performances in all areas of life—war in Iraq, the impending situation with Iran, fall of Enron and NASA. Dr. Sally Ride concluded that “One of the responsibilities of a NASA manager is to be inquisitive to a fault. You must ask and ask and ask.”
Two — “Vigorous minds” --Why Inquisitiveness is important
Inquisitiveness is the beginning of meaningful learning. As children grow up their curiosity leads them to explore their bodies, their immediate surroundings and the world beyond. What we know about human growth and development indicates that our minds require frequent stimulation in order to grow.
The essence of our democracy lies in the inquisitiveness of its citizens—to pose tough questions of those in power.
The curiosity of “vigorous minds” is what contributes to the growth of new ideas, technologies and our very civilization. As “Mr.” in The Color Purple claimed, “I think us here to wonder.”
Three—“The Flat Earth” and the Nature of Inquisitive Minds.
By analyzing inquiries and investigations from thinkers at the leading edges of their disciplines, we develop a model of important kinds of questions to ask and reflect on including, for example:
“Why do we enjoy music?”
“ Exactly how much of nature can we trash and burn and get away with it?”
“What do collapses of past societies teach us about our own future?”
“How do women’s minds work?”
Inquisitive persons not only ask good questions, but they are also persistent in searching for answers, cooperative with others in this search and are open to the mysteries of complex situations and the need to examine all evidence.
Four—“Behaving like cattle”—Why we aren’t more curious.
Tocqueville observed that Americans in 1835 were given to “brief and inattentive investigations,” often agreeing with a majority without much reflection. This chapter investigates the psychology of those in power, those who lead: Peter the Great and other leaders’ displeasure at being challenged and the resulting arrogance of power. The acquisition and maintenance of power and control often demands squelching dissenting points of view. This chapter concludes with an examination of followership—how some of us prefer to be led around “like cattle,” as Dostoevsky noted, preferring to identify with a larger group to establish our identity.
Part Two — How to Transform America
Five--“Ever wonder. . ?” Inquisitiveness begins at home.
There are many ways in which growing up in a family teaches us to be active, inquisitive citizens:
Modeling inquisitiveness and high expectations—“There’s no such word as CAN’T”
The presence of stories reflecting inquisitiveness
The language of wondering and speculating—asking “How do you know?” and “Did you ever wonder?”
Critical observation of and responses to media
Playing Devil’s Advocate around the dinner table
The story of how one young lad grew into a Nobel-Prize winning physicist by the
questions his mother regularly asked him provides the most dramatic example of how
inquisitiveness at home can lead to dramatic success in life
Six—A Vision of Education--“Learning how to frame a question”
Each school presents a philosophy or vision of expectations for its graduates. Among these lofty and significant goals should be the following:
Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, said the purpose of a college education is to learn how “to frame a question.”
Nancy Cantor, Chancellor of University of Indiana (Urbana-Champagne) said “There isn’t a pat answer anymore to this world, so the best we can do for students is to have them ask the right questions.”
Parents need to become familiar with the vision and goals toward which their children’s schools are striving.
Seven-- Sharing Power with Students.
Teachers at all levels can and do challenge their students to examine daily events, artifacts, historical occurrences, philosophies and claims of others and generate good questions in accordance with their local curriculum. Students wonder “If the sun is a gas, is light also a gas?” “Why do black holes move through space?” and “How did powerful kingdoms develop in western Africa?” These queries become part of powerful and purposeful investigations for students and teachers where both are learning from and with each other and not merely memorizing stuff to be stored on their hard drives.
Eight--“Controlling our government”--A New Vision of Democracy
This chapter presents a vision of civic responsibility based upon an explorers’ outpost in Antarctica—Richard E. Byrd’s Little America, established on the Ross Ice Shelf in 1928 when he was leader of the First Byrd Antarctic Expedition. Within this frontier town I envisioned the essence of democracy, working toward common goals, within an accepted structure fueled by deep inquisitiveness about exploring new worlds, all within a leader constructed environment for explorers. Byrd exemplified ideas presented by the Greeks, Romans, our founding fathers and Alexis de Tocqueville.
Nine—Democratic Skepticism—“Time’s running out.”
If, for Socrates, thinking is a process of encountering life’s “perplexities,” how do citizens and their leaders recognize and confront major issues of the day? They engage in several of the following aspects of critical inquiry:
Examining the uses of language of those in power—their use of metaphors like “Falling Dominoes” in Vietnam and “Time’s Running Out” and “the gathering storm threat of WMD” in operation Iraqi Freedom (2003).
Analysis of analogical reasoning claims: “Saddam is another Hitler.” Resistance to current policies represents the “appeasement” policies of 1938.
As in the business world, we play Devil’s Advocate during the political decision making process—a process John Negroponte (DNI) has instituted with respect to foreign intelligence in 2007.
Ten-- Strategic Inquiry on the Job—“Relentlessly Questioning”
The US Army uses an inquiry process known as After Action Reviews to examine and learn from every major operation it undertakes. So should we.
Under the leadership of “neutron” Jack Welch GE became a mega-corporation with profits to match by challenging all decision makers to engage in an inquiry-based strategy called “workout” during which all issues became “boundaryless.”
And Enron, under the leadership of Lay, Skilling and Fastow broke all of their own cultural precepts about asking “Why?” by not attending to the good question “How does Enron make its money?” And we know the consequences.
Eleven-- The Ultimate Questions—“Who am I?”
Perhaps the most important questions for all citizens are those we ask ourselves:
Who am I?
Why am I engaged in my current vocation?
What is the meaning of my life?
How will I make a contribution to those with whom I live and work?
What makes me happy, satisfied, fulfilled?
We examine examples from James Joyce, Thomas Merton, Charlie
Brown, Ed Koch, Bill Gates and many others.
Twelve--“What have we learned?”
Summarizing examples from all settings—home, school, business, military and politics—we learn that inquiry can only thrive in a culture wherein parents, teachers, business and military leaders model and nurture our growth toward self-fulfillment, prosperity and security. All it takes is concerned, curious citizens who recognize the value of what the mother of one Nobel Laureate in Physics (Isidore I. Rabi) said, “Did you ask a good question today. That difference—asking good questions” made him become a scientist and could transform not only our educational and business settings but our civic lives as well. Our destinies and our lives depend upon it.
Conclusion—Seeds of Hope.
What leads us to believe that we can effect such a transformation in American ways of life, within the deepest foundations of our culture? All our children are born naturally curious and they need their inquisitive minds to survive and grow intellectually. We need but create settings for this innate tendency to become recognized, grow, blossom and flourish.
Endorsements
“Yes, I agree that everybody not just journalists should be what you call “inquisitive to a fault.”
- Nicholas Lemann, Dean, Columbia University School of Journalism
“Inquisitiveness is certainly one of the many important attributes of successful leaders that we hope to develop in midshipmen.”
- Commander Steve Trainor, USN, Department of Leadership, Ethics and Law U.S. Naval Academy
“Common sense suggests to me that this [fostering curiosity] is the responsibility of society at large, including schools, families, government information, the media, and so forth and that each individual himself or herself in a democracy bears final responsibility for caring about the nation and society in each lives.
“In terms of professionals, whether in government, the military, or the private sector, the requirement to be skeptical about conventional wisdom should be built into the job description, especially where lives are at stake. In every case, this must start at the top.” (letter)
- Gary Hart, Former US Senator
Leaders probe and push with a curiosity that borders on skepticism, making sure their questions are answered with action. . . When you are a leader, your job is to have all the questions. You have to be incredibly comfortable looking like the dumbest person in the room. Every conversation you have about a decision, a proposal, or a piece of market information has to be filled with you saying, “What if?” and “Why not?” and “How come?” Questioning, however, is never enough. You have to make sure your questions unleash debate and raise issues that get action. (Newsweek, 4/4/05, p. 47)
- Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, from WINNING
Sample Chapters
Chapter One: “We lacked imagination”
Chapter Five: “Ever Wonder?” Inquiry Begins at Home
Chapter Ten: Strategic Inquiry on the Job—“Relentlessly Questioning Everything We Do.” Inquiry in the US Army, GE, Shell and Enron
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