nullius in verba
kids are naturally born curious - they always come across things that they can't wrap their head around, and then they ask, why? or how?
if you are curious about something, it means that your existing ideas & current world view cannot adequately explain the thing.
I was that curious kid. I wanted to know how everything worked and why we did things the way we did them. that didn't go too smoothly, especially because I grew up in a very traditional Indian family. all answers to my questions would always fall back on some authority - "because I / God / your teacher / the government said so". I experienced that in school as well with teachers, though, to a lesser extent.
that definitely stunted my growth. I was effectively taught not to be curious. so going back to the definition of curiosity I laid out above, my current worldview may not have been improving at the rate that it should have. I luckily realized very early on that a lot of these authoritative fall backs actually just meant that the person I was speaking to didn't understand what it is that I was asking about. if they truly did understand it, they would be able to provide an explanation that fell to the level of my worldview at the time.
I started to become a skeptic and lived my life through a code that I had never really put into words until I started reading The Beginning of Infinity. that code is "Nullius In Verba" - ie. "take no one's word". rejecting authority and seeking understanding through good explanations is something I'm glad I took semi-seriously.
I'm actively trying to rebuild the childlike curiosity that I had lost. I'm doing this through building my foundations, conversing with remarkable people, and learning how to ask better questions. it's going to be a long journey, but it will be worthwhile - I hope that when I become a father, I provide fuel for my child's natural curiosity.